The normal currencies have undergone quite a lot of trouble in the last few years, something that has severely affected the economy. In this context, a new and interesting currency has appeared on the web, in the form of Bitcoin.
The Bitcoin is basically an electronic currency that can only be used online, and which is created out of blocks of encrypted data. You can find Bitcoins only in an electronic form and the way you can exchange them for products or any other items is also done digitally, via a peer to peer transferring system via wallets. Nowadays, you can exchange bitcoin for just about any item, in fact there are numerous Bitcoin marketplaces online in which you can trade this currency, you can even trade it for gold if you want.
Bitcoin value is dictated by the demand and supply of the market, but its main advantage is that all transactions are made in an anonymous manner, so no one can track who and how spent any Bitcoins that he owns, which is neat. Of course, there is a blockchain system that allows you to track the payments, but that is quite complicated to use and it requires some great knowledge about the cryptocurrency system.
Bitcoins are gathered through a process called mining, which employs the power of computers in order to solve mathematical problems with the help of algorithms. Mining revolves around calculating the hash value of a block header. The more processing power, the better the results when it comes to mining. Statistics say that a new bitcoin block is generated each 10 minutes, and a maximum amount of 21 million bitcoins are supported.
You can get Bitcoins via a wide range of places. There are various marketplaces that exchange physical goods for a Bitcoin, or you can buy them at an online exchange. Alongside that, there are numerous Paypal vendors that provide you with complete access to Bitcoins if you want. No matter what type of method you use, you do need to know that the Bitcoin market is quite volatile, so expect prices to raise and drop dramatically.
In regards to security, Bitcoins use various types of encryption so they are way more secure than many of the other currencies on the market. However, because of the fact that they are virtual, there are some problems in this regard, since the currency does have a vulnerability to hacking, which is interesting to say the least.
There’s a lot of controversy in regards to Bitcoin, because many feel that this is just a scheme to get rich fast without imposing taxes, while others see it as a fiscal evasion or money laundering tool.
Despite that, Bitcoins are used as an investment by many people all over the world, and the fact that their value has increased exponentially in the last few years clearly shows that there hasn’t been a better time to use a virtual currency!
