After Bitcoin has far penetrated US $ 20 thousand per BTC and the US dollar value is minus more than 5 percent this year, many people are rereading the changes about valuable assets. Zcoin (XZC) which turned into FIRO understands the change.
The US dollar as the world's largest fiat money has no intrinsic value or real asset as its underlying. Therefore, its value is entirely based on public trust in the issuer of the money, namely the United States government.
The fiat money's fame started in the US, when President Nixon in 1971 made a policy to separate gold from the dollar. That ensures dollar amounts no longer have to be issued based on the amount of gold reserves the country has.
Along with the development of the financial industry, the role of fiat money has become increasingly vital in the economic turnaround and the recovery process from the crisis. The US dollar becomes the main global reserve currency at this time, especially for export and import affairs.
During the 2008 financial crisis, more and more people realized the benefits of fiat money. In order to cover losses and restore economic glory, the US Central Bank issued a quantitative easing policy, aka issuing as many new dollars as possible. It was a stimulus measure, stimulating the wheels of business to move.
However, the 2008 crisis is still fragile to this day, so that it still forces Japan and the European Union to maintain negative interest rate policies.
In the same year, Bitcoin filled that space as a new electronic financial system, as well as the creation of a type of money that was not controlled by any particular country or party.
Bitcoin declares that the money supply must be very limited, open, transparent and decentralized. In 2020, the value carried by Bitcoin will mature and prove its superiority to the world.
Fiat money is like the dollar lying down, while gold is also limp helplessly. Bitcoin shows a very prominent rate, over IDR 300 million per BTC.
The discussion and debate regarding Bitcoin "replacing" fiat money, for the time being we can probably say that it has been completed and the mention of Bitcoin as a cryptocurrency may be somewhat less relevant, because it does not meet the criteria of a medium of exchange, at least from the aspect of value stability.
ZCoin (XZC) Becomes FIRO
Understanding that space for change, from fiat money being competed by Bitcoin (BTC), Zcoin (XZC) transformed into FIRO with a different symbol, namely FIRO.
For the author, FIRO can be both a currency and an investment instrument. The change from ZCoin to FIRO is an adaptation to the technological developments it has achieved.
The name ZCoin emerged because their blockchain privacy feature was originally created using a zero knowledge proof mechanism application which was later discovered to have a fatal security flaw.
In addition, the word coin on ZCoin is said to have the impression of making this crypto asset under the shadow of Bitcoin.
In fact, they have a goal to be in a higher class, by not only sitting on the same level as Bitcoin, but also major world currencies such as euros, dollars and so on.
In contrast to most privacy coins which still have a trusted setup to create anonymity, FIRO does not have a trusted setup that can be used as a gap for hackers to reveal all anonymous transactions that occur.
On the other hand, FIRO, which began with the bitcoin hard fork in 2016, has several similarities with Bitcoin as an investment instrument.
FIRO is fully decentralized, not controlled by any particular institution or individual, its supply is also limited, 21 million units. And it is based on a simple but solid blockchain system that has proven its strength through audits by some of the best programmers and cryptographers in the world.
Realizing this potential makes FIRO look like an asset that has the potential to bring changes to the way we store assets.
The challenge, of course, will lie in how many transactions the Firo blockchain can accommodate every second. Another thing is how they can keep every transaction processed quickly and with low transaction fees.
At the same time, FIRO must also ensure the security of its blockchain network, especially in the future when the majority of crypto assets have been mined.