We Support Blockchain Technology
In fall 2017 when the cryptocurrency market was going crazy, Sonic Automation also got on board through cryptocurrency mining. We now have a small offsite operation on the west coast in Vancouver, BC mining Ether since October 2017 and Bitcoin since the New Year. We also decided to be one of a few Toronto stores that accept cryptocurrency as payment. In home improvement and builder’s services, we are one of the first stores to accept cryptocurrency in Toronto. We believe that allowing our customers to pay in a variety of ways can better serve our clients. And, we believe in the future potential of the technology so wish to be on board early. Accepting cryptocurrency payments offers flexibility, ease of transfer, and creates a diverse way to spend your coins. And, we are big fans of Blockchain technology! Now you have a better way to spend your crypto investments.
*This article discusses a fraction of Blockchain technology’s potential and is in no way authoritative or comprehensive. We primarily use layman’s terms to simplify the information for wider comprehension. In addition to the economic and privacy advancements discussed, Blockchain is also being used to share computing power (Golem; FoldingCoin), data and research (IOTA), raise funds and kick start businesses (through ICOs), facilitate elections and prevent voter fraud, and advance technology in several more innovative and groundbreaking ways.*
Why Care About Cryptocurrency?
In late 2017 the price of all cryptocurrencies skyrocketed well above their intrinsic values (true values that are yet to be determined). Then, it subsequently crashed when everyone realized the “investment” craze they got swept up in was too good to be true. However, the underlying blockchain technology behind the currency remains groundbreaking and will change how we live — not just for business and commerce, but also how we manage things like credit scores, identity, education credentials, communications and more. Blockchain technology will be widely used within our lifetime, much sooner and more broadly than skeptics expect. Most enthusiasts and even former skeptics-turned-enthusiasts are calling the Blockchain Revolution the biggest communications advancement since the internet.
On the surface, for many unaware of how Blockchain works, it seems difficult to understand how synthetic, digital, ‘make-belief ‘ crypto-coins could have any value whatsoever. It’s a fake digital coin — who cares? My video game gives me these!
Right, but there’s much more to it than that. The short-ish answer is: the true value of cryptocurrencies lies in its technology’s ease and security of transferring financial value and sensitive information, across borders, peer-to-peer securely without the need for middlemen such as banks, credit card companies, notaries, lawyers or otherwise; and, in its greatly reduced chances of fraud and identity theft.
The long answer about Blockchain’s value is: too long to get into here — but check here if you want to learn more.
How Can Blockchain Technology & Cryptocurrency Benefit The World?
In a nutshell, in a world with hundreds of currencies, thousands of banks, millions of businesses, and billions of people, it is nearly impossible to safely transfer funds from one entity to another without the use of either an intermediary — such as a bank, Visa, Western Union, PayPal, Swift (for wire transfers) — or a professional such as a lawyer, notary, or Escrow, etc. With identity verification and protection it is also difficult to store and share accurate personal information without institutional third parties like credit bureaus, banks, and governments that are susceptible to hacking, conspiracy, negligence and other fraud.
Entrusting a private company to hold personal information and release it to other private companies carries many disadvantages such lack of transparency, subjectivity, privacy breaches, incompetent and unwilling bureaucracy and more. Blockchain offers solutions to many of these real world finance and identity complications, making it easier and safer to transfer money, pay for services and get approved for credit, loans and even rental apartments. And, it can make storing and sharing your private data secure and under your control.
How It Works
Ethereum, Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash — and other proof of stake (POS) coins — operate through a peer-to-peer network of “miners” that are essentially private servers linked to each other to create an encrypted, decentralized shared network to transfer value and store information. Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash are solely currencies used for financial transactions, whereas Ethereum is a platform that can run apps, carry a variety of information, and be used as currency. Ethereum is the most versatile of the three with great potential for expanded use and scalability.
The personal data or currency is stored in an incorruptible “blockchain” held on this network that cannot be manipulated or hacked. Private information or currency can only be opened, shared or spent with verification by the “keyholder.” Therefore, nothing can be given to a second or third party without being unlocked and authorized by you. Currency is protected and safe until keyholders authorize its release and privacy is maintained in transactions where confidentiality is paramount. With regards to storing and sharing personal information, Blockchain allows for us to hold our personally identifiable data — social insurance number, social security, healthcare, university and post-secondary degrees and credentials, and so forth — in a wallet secured by our key. Then, when needing credit or other bonded privileges, we can then share that information by unlocking it for the third party – always under our control.
The Blockchain network’s security is fail-safe because every computer hooked up to the network prevents other computers from “cracking” the encryption or hacking the information and violating security. Any potential hostile interaction from another computer on the network will not be verified, and the transaction will not be approved. Transaction approvals are done on a consensus, so if one tries to violate the security the others will know and not allow it. Therefore, any fraudulent payments or unauthorized attempts will be disallowed. Compared to a centralized, private database the safety of the data in the blockchain is not left to an individual server that can be compromised from human error or hacked.
Blockchain technology opens the gates for eliminating 3rd parties from holding our information and money. It can make us — the individual or business — the sole providers and keyholders of this money and data. Because Blockchain technology is decentralized, it can potentially eliminate the need for companies like Amazon, Google, Bank of America, Transunion and Equifax, or any other major institution — and their vulnerabilities — from holding our personally identifiable information and knowing our business. It is possible that eventually our personal credentials will be locked on this network by a private key that only we control, sharing it when necessary and only for as long as we choose, disabling access whenever and from whomever we choose.
The Blockchain Revolution and its potential mean an increase in privacy, a decrease in corporate and government control, and global financial autonomy free from international borders and restrictions. It allows for cross-border and peer-to-peer payments with low fees and minimal barriers to entry. It has the potential to put financial and identity control in the hands of the individual, not the private companies trying to take it. And, it can help fight global poverty by giving financial services to those who need it most
The Future of Blockchain
Much of Blockchain and Cryptocurrency’s potential seems a pipedream due to government restrictions and the current monopolized corporate landscape. However, with free-market economics and innovative startups creating real-life solutions that people need and governments want, optimistic and driven companies and early-adopting individuals will slowly chip away at today’s hegemonies, creating a more democratic economy and financial industry for the future.
If we’re lucky we’ll see a time where money has no borders, those in poverty can pull themselves out without the need for credit cards or bank accounts, technology companies will not store our private information on their databases, and consumers, vendors and individuals will be in control of their finances and fully protected in their transactions without paying exorbitant fees, waiting extensive confirmation times, or having their livelihoods compromised by fraud.
Where to Spend Cryptocurrency in Toronto
With us! And these other Toronto and Southern Ontario stores that accept Bitcoin and other Cryptocurrencies.
Sonic Automation is helping push the Blockchain Revolution further in our own little ways by mining for the Bitcoin and Ethereum networks and by accepting many of today’s major cryptocurrencies — Ethereum (ETH), Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Litecoin (LTC) and Dash (DASH). Contact us today to pay for your security system or other custom automation, smart home, panel TVs, or any of our other products and services with your favourite cryptocurrency. We will be also be updating here with a list of other Toronto, GTA and Southern Ontario stores that accept cryptocurrencies.
