Uphold. The Cryptocurrency Interledger
My position on whether cryptocurrency is a fad or real changes from month to month. I had a hard time connecting the dots until recently. What changed?
I discovered the Uphold Interledger.
Uphold. Cryptocurrency Interledger
The Interledger is just what it sounds like, a ledger system between multiple currencies or ‘stores of value.’ It’s based on the distributed ledger that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies have made famous. It allows you to easily convert between fiat and cryptocurrencies with a click of a button. ALl you need is an account and you can convert Euros to Bitcoins and Bitcoins to Pound Sterling.
Uphold Interledger Cards
The cool thing is that you don’t have to stick to cryptocurrencies, you can convert to just about every fiat currency in the world. This is really handy if you travel a lot (pre Covid19) and need to move money into local currencies quickly. It’s all contained in an app on your smart phone. It’s pretty darn cool and I believe that the Interledger will be future of currency exchange.
Uphold Available Currencies
Xrp and Web Monetization
I discovered the Interledger a few months ago when I added a bit of code to monetize my blog. I didn’t hide or toll gate any of my content but instead used a ‘tip jar’ type of honor system. If you’ve signed up for Coil and visit my site, I get a few pennies for how long you stay here and read my posts. I won’t make a living at this but that’s not my intent right now, but it’s nice to know that I make a few bucks a month without having to resort to placing Google Ads all over my site.
Make Money With Cred Earn
There’s also a way to make 10% annually with Cred Earn, a digital asset lending system. I think this is a great passive way to invest some cryptocurrencies that I believe will appreciate over time and be like a small venture capitalist. I will be transferring more digital assets to my Uphold account to lend out and make some passive income for sure. Of course you’ll have to pay taxes but the rate of return sure beats what the loca bank is paying these days.
UPDATE: WOW, looks like Cred Earn was a Fraud filed for Chapter 11 because it was a fraud. Luckily I only invested like $2 with them and got $2.50 back, so I lost nothing. I feel bad for those that had lent money out and still have outstanding accounts. The chances of recouping the money now are very slim.
Developer Tools
The neat thing is that you can add the Interledger functionality to your website or app as well. I can see of so many applications for this for a site that’s selling a service or a product. Now you can accept any fiat or cryptocurrency and collect it on system. I plan on using something like this if I ever come up with a product or service to sell.
End Notes
I hope that you find Uphold and the Interledger as fascinating as I do. I believe that this has been what’s missing for making Cryptocurrencies more mainstream and acceptable for the ‘average Joe.’ Granted, I missed the boat when I bought a few BTC at $400 and sold later at $3000, but hindsight is always 20-20. I’ll gladly take a 10% return on digital assets that aren’t burning a hole in my pocket anyday!