Bitcoin is a peer-to-peer (p2p) decentralised digital currency, more commonly known as cryptocurrency. Bitcoin appeals more towards the tech-savvy crowd of people because it lacks “middlemen” or centralised authority. Bitcoin was created by Satoshi Nakamoto and published as an open-source code in January 2009. Bitcoin has been gaining some popularity over the last few years with some businesses accepting Bitcoin as payment for their goods and services. You can also take help from Quantum AI, from where you will get authentic information about bitcoin trading.
There are quite a few perks that Bitcoin has going for it, first off the transactions are completed within minutes, you can send large sums of money anywhere across the globe without transaction fees, and there is a potential to gain a significant ROI from Bitcoin investments. These benefits make Bitcoin very appealing, but until recently Bitcoin has been banned in many countries and economies. Bitcoin’s most significant and controversial use case is that it is known for its use on the dark web for illegal activities such as money laundering, drug purchases/sales, murder-for-hire assassins stories, etc.
However, Bitcoin has the ability to change any economy (fiat currency) if its user base expands enough because Bitcoin’s value depends on various factors including but not limited to: user bases, transaction volumes, liquidity providers, trust in Bitcoin itself. We will dive deeper into this further in the article when we discuss how Bitcoin affects its economy and other currencies’ economies alike. To begin our discussion on Peercoin and Bitcoin and their economies we must first understand what a decentralised digital currency is and Bitcoin’s method of fighting inflation.
Bitcoin is a decentralised digital currency meaning Bitcoin has no central authority like banks or other financial institutions, Bitcoin transactions are recorded in Bitcoin’s public ledger (blockchain) which is hosted by Bitcoin miners (computers solving complex maths problems that create Bitcoin blocks). Bitcoin mining requires significant computing power; therefore, Bitcoin miners charge transaction fees for the service they provide to process Bitcoin transactions globally. [Bitcoin block info]
Bitcoin was initially introduced in 2009 but it took some time before the general public paid attention to them. Bitcoin is a digital currency that can be used to purchase items online or exchanged for traditional currencies, such as the United States Dollar. Bitcoin users tend to share their Bitcoin address with others rather than a bank account number, which makes transferring Bitcoins easier and safer. There are no transaction fees involved when exchanging money via Bitcoin and you aren’t charged extra due to banking regulations or additional fees from credit card companies.
Currently, 1 Bitcoin (BTC) is worth over $1075 US dollars. In order to trade Bitcoin for USD at this moment, you would have to open an account on a Bitcoin exchange site where it’s possible to swap your BTC for USD and vice versa. Bitcoin exchanges often have a different exchange rate than the standard currency exchange rates, so it’s important you find one where you can lock in your BTC to USD rate.
It is becoming more common for Bitcoin to be accepted as an alternative payment around the world with companies such as Overstock, Dell, OK Cupid, Expedia, Reddit, Namecheap, Virgin Galactic, TigerDirect, Gyft, Wikipedia, and most recently Tesla Motors officially accepting Bitcoin payments apart from fiat currencies. Some of these companies even offer special deals if you pay via Bitcoin!
People are purchasing everything from computers to coffee with Bitcoin. If you’re not trading Bitcoin yet or interested in the cryptocurrency world, why not start now? There are many Bitcoin exchanges online that make Bitcoin trading safe and secure. Sign up for an account, post the Bitcoin address you’d like to receive Bitcoin payments at and you can purchase Bitcoin in a matter of minutes!
If you’re interested in learning more about Bitcoin or using Bitcoin, check out Bitcoin.org, Bitcoin.it and Bitcoin.com. There’s also a community forum where people from around the world chat when it comes to anything related to Bitcoin: Bitcointalk Forum. Enjoy your newfound cryptocurrency knowledge!
Conclusion
Bitcoin has been getting a lot of attention lately, and what you might not know is that Bitcoin is now an accepted method of payment at TechSoup.
“TechSoup offers products and services to nonprofits such as yourself through TechSoup Global,” said David Mihalchik, vice president of global product management for TechSoup. “We’ve partnered with Bitcoin payment service provider BitPay to make it easy for your organisation to receive Bitcoin donations.”
