If you’ve been paying any attention to the tech or financial sector, then you’ve likely heard cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin or Dogecoin touted as the future of investments. But did you know there are also cryptocurrencies designed specifically for the cannabis industry? Today, we’ll take a look at HempCoin, one of the fastest-growing cannabis cryptos on the market today, and discuss how the industry can benefit from digital currencies and blockchain technology.
What Exactly Is Cryptocurrency?
For the layman out there, the whole concept of cryptocurrency can seem pretty confusing. What gives crypto its value, and what to stop someone from manipulating the software and stealing your money?
Essentially, cryptocurrencies function much like any other tangible currency like the US dollar or the euro in that they are assigned a numerical value and can be exchanged for goods and services. However, unlike traditional currencies, crypto is decentralized.
That means that there’s not a government or centralized authority that ensures and maintains the currency’s value. Instead, crypto derives its value based on its demand—similar to how stock prices work. The more people who purchase an individual crypto, the more value it will have.
So if there’s not a centralized regulatory body that maintains a cryptocurrency, what keeps it safe? That’s where blockchain technology comes in.
What Is Blockchain?
A blockchain is a shared ledger—a digital checkbook shared by all users of a particular crypto. When you make a transaction using cryptocurrency, that information is recorded in a “block,” which becomes a part of the larger “blockchain.” Once that block is recorded, it can no longer be deleted or altered since it plays a role in securing all subsequent blocks to the blockchain.
To keep things secured, before a block enters the chain, it first must undergo a verification process involving a complex mathematical algorithm. Powerful computers contribute solutions to these math problems in exchange for new units of the particular crypto. This process is known as “mining.” As one Twitter user aptly put it: “Imagine if keeping your car idling 24/7 produced solved sudokus you could trade for heroin.”
Hemp Coin And How Crypto Can Benefit The Cannabis Industry
Bitcoin, which was the first-ever cryptocurrency, was created all the way back in 2009. Before stock traders and investment bros got hip to crypto, Bitcoin was primarily used on the dark web to purchase illegal goods and services like sex workers or illicit drugs—anonymity being the major benefit since a decentralized currency is much harder to trace back to a specific purchaser then government-issued legal tender. It’s ironic because now crypto could be a solution to the banking problems that plague the legal cannabis industry.
Even though cannabis laws have significantly relaxed over the past decade, the industry still has complications when it comes to banking services. Because cannabis exists in this nebulous legal grey zone, most banking institutions won’t work those cannabis businesses out of fear of potential repercussions from the federal government. It’s why activists have been trying to get SAFE Banking legislation passed for years. While congress drags its feet on enacting these protections, crypto may be a good answer.
HempCoin, a cryptocurrency developed in 2014, was developed to help secure transactions between farmers, dispensaries, and manufacturers, who previously had been dealing in large quantities of paper cash. Unfortunately, in our society having huge wads of money makes you a target. So while there are financial risks to sinking your capital into a crypto, it does help assuage the threat of getting robbed.
HempCoin Vs PotCoin
HempCoin isn’t the only cannabis-centric crypto game in town. In fact, there are several. What separates HempCoin from competitors like PotCoin comes down to targeted markets.
Most other cryptocurrencies designed specifically for cannabis focus on the consumer side—those who want to use crypto to purchase cannabis. HempCoin, on the other hand, focuses on the farmer and is even used in other areas of agriculture.
So what is the price of HempCoin? At the time of writing this article, the HempCoin value is $0.00736—up nearly 19%. If you’re in the industry, and have been thinking about jumping on the crypto train, now might just be the perfect time to do it.
