I have been in quite the heated debate with my fellow cybersecurity professionals on LinkedIn regarding their perception that Bitcoin and cryptocurrency are only vehicles for cybercriminals. Yes, cryptocurrency is becoming a favorite among ransomware attacks and it is used by criminals to hide and move money in support of illicit activities. But I firmly believe that crypto is a tool that can be wielded for both good and evil, with the overall potential benefits outweighing the current misuses.

After a day full of interesting back-and-forth debate, one very smart colleague posed a simple statement that highlighted the need to first discuss the benefits of cryptocurrency. He stated “I'm not sure I know of any use cases that cryptocurrencies offer which improve things beyond current digital methods of using FIAT, beyond those which seem to benefit criminals”

I realized (albeit a little late) that most of the cybersecurity community audiences lack an understanding of the tangible potential benefits and therefore they only see the downsides.

So, I quickly offered the following list as an introductory primer for those in the cybersecurity world who might not see any positive use-cases for cryptocurrency:

Extends banking and money services to those who would normally not have access, especially in developing or struggling nations Ex. savings and checking accounts, loans and micro-loans, protected/low-risk investments Saves money by eliminating middlemen-fees for purchase transactions and transfers. the 1.5%-3.5% for credit cards that merchants must surrender to accept credit cards Greatly reduces money manipulation by centrally issued entities, usually governments, in the form of devaluation due to massive printing Resists fraud, manipulation, and destruction from central control entities (ex. the fidelity of property ownership records for many types of assets – currency, homes, land, etc. Resistant to hyperinflation events Allows for the privacy of transactions, to restrict data to only those who are authorized (ex. data breaches, illegal tracking, etc.) Highly resistant to post-transaction tampering Capable of near-perfect audit records Allows micro-transactions, fractions of pennies for online and other payments. supporting the decentralized economies and digital services Transactions can capture tremendous meta-data, allowing for many new usages Wildcard: Can be used as part of automated digital contracts (automated and unbreakable) and Decentralized Autonomous Organizations which promotes trust in digital technologies

It is not intended to be a complete list, but I think it is a good start. In reality, each of these items could spawn a whole new discussion with levels of meaningful detail and examples.

What are your thoughts? Did I miss something important? I am interested to know what your personal perspectives are regarding cryptocurrency and cybersecurity. Please share in the comments.