So I’m not going to pretend that crypto currency is something I’ve ever been a part of or really understood. All I really understood was that it was pretend internet money that is either worth a lot or nothing and that changes constantly. Obviously, I’ve been told about crypto a lot and had it explained to me by a variety of men, always without my asking. Though after a lot of research I’ve discovered that cannabis and crypto are closely linked, and that there is even cannabis specific crypto currency. Not only are cannabis and crypto linked, but the cannabis community appears to really rely on crypto currency in a lot of ways. So, ladies and gentleman, let’s dive head first into the world of cannabis crypto currency.
What Is Crypto Currency?
For those of you out there like me who are brand new to this form of internet money, here is a basic breakdown of what crypto is and how it works. So crypto is any form of internet currency that is used virtually for secure transactions. This currency doesn’t have regulation in the way that normal money does and it does not rely on banks. It works as digital entries into an online database that logs and describes transactions. It uses encryptions to verify transactions, hency crypto, which is supposed to be more secure and safe than bank transfers or other online forms of payment. Rather than using it to purchase items many trade it for profit a lot like the stock market.
How Does It Work?
This bit took me a minute to get into my brain as I’m just not financially minded but here we go. So crypto works through this thing called blockchain which is a transaction record that’s available to the public. People mine for crypto which means solving maths problems to create the coins. You can also purchase coins if you’re not much for maths. Once you acquire the currency you don’t actually own anything physical but you have the key to transferring currency without a third party. The worth of these coins does go up and down, again like stocks. So many people store them and wait for them to appreciate in value before selling or cashing out.
Why Is Crypto Good For Weed?
Ok so that is a super basic look at what crypto currency is and how it works, if you want to know more there is a bunch of info available on this fancy new thing called the internet. So let’s move on to why crypto is great for the cannabis industry. We are, in many parts of the world, fighting for cannabis to be legal. In some places there has been success but in much of the world it is still an illegal substance. In the US, a lot of medicinal and recreational cannabis distribution centres are blocked from using banks on a federal level, even if it’s legal in that state. The issue with that is the only other option being cash. As a result, dispensaries across the US have experienced a rash of violent robberies. It’s just not a safe industry to store large amounts of physical currency in. Crypto currency is a fantastic option for cannabis based businesses to ensure that they can still trade safely while the silly laws get sorted out.
Outside of the USA crypto currency is a great way to conduct business online for purchasing of seeds and other items that may cause issues if they go through a third party.
Crypto has become so important to the cannabis industry that there is a lot of cannabis specific crypto currency available.
CannabisCoin (CANN)
This coin came into existence in 2014 and was one of the earliest coins. This currency actually promises to turn the coin directly into weed. This is generally used for medicinal weed and the general idea was that it was one coin for one gram of medicinal cannabis. With this coin there is thought to be 77 million dollars worth currently in circulation with a total amount of 91.8 million.
HempCoin (THC)
This coin also arrived in 2014 but this coin was designed for a very different purpose. Rather than being for individual weed buying use it was designed for the farming industry. It was also designed to be used by dispensaries, both recreational and medicinal. So this is a much bigger picture coin that is supposed to facilitate transactions between farmers, dispensaries and consumers on a larger scale. It is also used for the rest of the farming industry rather than just cannabis transactions.
PotCoin (POT)
This coin appeared at the very start of 2014, obviously a big year for online cannabis transactions. This one was definitely one of the earliest if not the earliest coin available. It was created for the exact reason we discussed earlier, to allow legal cannabis transactions safely. It was designed to go between two parties on a smaller scale, essentially just money for buying weed much like CannabisCoin. Not surprisingly it came in right around the time of legalisation in Colorado. The creators saw a gap in the market that desperately needed to be filled. The coolest part of this was the ATM they installed in Colorado dispensaries specifically for PotCoin. Hilariously it did not take off and wasn’t popular until Dennis Rodman wore a shirt with their logo on it. It took one day for the stock in the company to double and it just kept building from there. Another cute aspect is that the limit on this currency is 420 million coins.
The company has announced that they are adding new aspects to the currency including faster network synching and wallet upgrades. This definitely seems to be the largest and most versatile cannabis crypto currency on the market. Now we have the PotCoin foundation which was created to fund development programmes, education, as well as a variety of initiatives and projects. Definitely have a look at their website to find out more.
Written by Tasha Porritt
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