Using Cryptocurrency for Disney Vacation Spending
No dwarfs with tools and no dig-dig-digging? Cryptocurrency “mining” certainly redefines the job.
With its popularity continuing to surge, many rookie miners continue to join the crypto trend, making the reality of using the currency for your next Disney vacation a reality.
Credit: Disney
With digital wallets, electronic currency, and no centralization, cryptocurrency sounds like a Disney fantasy. Sure, it takes a few tricks “to get rich quick.” The currency though is far more of a reality than a dream.
In 2014, The Walt Disney Company created their own digital currency, Dragonchain. Now open source, Dragonchain creators hoped to make “the most secure and flexible blockchain on Earth.”
Heigh-Ho, Heigh-Ho, It’s Off to Mine We Go
Everywhere one turns lately, cryptocurrency seems to be part of the conversation. With the price of a Bitcoin around $50,000 right now, the elusive electronic currency seems out of reach for many.
Yet, many “miners” now find themselves earning enough to pay for their next vacation with cryptocurrency. Using a spare computer in their basements, these miners travel without touching their traditional bank accounts.
Image Credit: NBC
What exactly is cryptocurrency? According to “the Dogefather” Elon Musk during his recent appearance on Saturday Night Live, “It’s a hustle.” Thanfully for the millions of people invovled, that was just a joke.
What is Cryptocurrency?
Cryptocurrency lacks a headquarters, CEO, employees, branches or any physical assets. Still, it holds enormous monetary value. It’s a self-regulating digital currency used to buy and sell things. Even better, it’s convertible to just about any currency in the world, including U.S. dollars.
Transactions made using cryptocurrency, like Bitcoin, are verified and maintained by a decentralized system. The system uses cryptography, a way to protect communicaton and information using codes. In this case, the currency uses nodes and miners.
Nodes are the digital ledger that maintains the record of transactions on a blockchain, a unique giant file.
Photo Credit: Matt Stroshane
In mining, coders compete with each other to solve sophisticated mathematical problems using their computer hardware. In return for the service in solving these problems, miners are rewarded with a small amount of cryptocurrency. Then, it is added to the node ledger.
Dig up Crypto by the Score
Today, many amatuer coders find themselves making quite a bit of spare spending money mining with the basic graphic cards on newer computers. Just like Snow White’s hard-working friends, these miners work together to combine their card capacities to assist a buyer in striking crypto gold.
Using services like Nicehash, miners tap into software that facilitates this virtual team. With basic computing capacity, miners can make from 56 cents a day all the way to $29 a day, depending on their graphic cards.
That adds up to about $10,500 a year, or should I say .21 Bitcoin. That is one awesome trip to the Walt Disney World resort (or at least three smaller ones)!
Concern exists over the energy use required for cryptocurrency mining. Still, many argue that by having no physical locations or employees that need to commute, the environmental impacts of cryptomining balance out.
“As measured by electricity costs alone, Bitcoin is much more efficient than traditional banking and gold mining on a global scale,” according to a study by Ark-Invest.
Dragonchain and other blockchain enterprises are also working to create clean energy solutions for blockchains.
Photo Credit: Getty Images
The global phenomena around cryptocurrency continues to grow. The trend certainly makes it interesting to ponder mining as a way to save for Disney vacations. However, the lyrics to the dwarfs’ famous work song may have to change to “Heigh-ho, Heigh-ho, now it’s home to work we go!”
Feature Image Credit: Disney
