Introduction to Bitcoin

Bitcoin, the digital money was not long ago a matter associated with computer geeks & speculators, in the last few months has broken in to the general public, gaining more press coverage & popularity worldwide. But what is Bitcoin, the way it can be used & how are you able to buy & sell the digital money.

What is Bitcoin:

Bitcoin is a Digital Money, which was created as an alternative to the money they are familiar with. Fundamentally it is a money which is not managed by a central bank, so no central bank/Government controls or regulates the money, it is controlled and regulated by the owners of the money itself. As the money is based on an open-source code which can be reviewed by somebody.

What are the benefits of bitcoin?

Low transaction fees, no charge-backs, no intermediary, anonymity- on every transaction you do not require to transfer personal knowledge or identification details.

How are you able to pay with bitcoins?

as you do together with your current paper money, you will need to store your coins in a wallet. As the money is digital so is the wallet, you will need to chosen an electronic wallet of your choice to store your bitcoins. You can have a wallet which is a application installed on your computer. In case you use this technique it is very important that you keep your computer safe and backed up, in case you lose your computer you lose your coins. A better option is to have your wallet stored online, with access from you mobile. In this case, your money won't be lost, unless you lose your password, so make sure you don't forget it.

Paying together with your mobile is the most practical way- you can pay in physical stores basically by scanning a QR code or using your NFC compatible device.

Where are you able to pay with bitcoins?

When it was first launched not plenty of place accepted bitcoins. The places that did accept at the beginning made wonderful profits, for example a pizza bought three years ago for ten,000 BTC would be now worth close to $9 million, at the time ten,000 BTC were worth only $25. Now days increasingly places are accepting bitcoins, from local bars where you can buy a beer in BTC to larger sites which offers services like wordpress and reddit.

Why is there a lot buzz about this lately?

The chart below explains most of the hype, as you can see in the chart, since the beginning of the year the worth of the money has increased (against the USD) by 6,000% & the peak it was over 9,000%. & not only that the worth of the money has gone up substantially, increasingly businesses are now accepting bitcoins in return for its services & goods.

Many argue that Bitcoin is the future of funds & that they are on a verge of a revolution. But keep in mind that the governments still control most of the money in the world & they are not about to let go the potential taxes that they can generate from the transaction. Furthermore the current lack of regulation, which is seen as a benefit for most Bitcoin enthusiast, is also the Achilles heel at the shortage of paternalism & regulation makes it simpler to be a victim of frauds & scams, & it also makes it simpler to pay for illegal practices.

The query that ought to be ask now is - will the governments embrace the new trend & alter the current regulation, or will they fight against (as China was the first to do so).

Personally I do think that they are on a verge of a revolution, & that the world of finance is about to be alter drastically, will bitcion be the that will revolutionize the world of finance remains to be seen.