The value of Bitcoin is breaking new records - in everyday life the digital currency is a niche. The Bundesbank also warns savers about an investment.
The digital currency Bitcoin remains at a record price: On the weekend, the value of a bitcoin on several online trading platforms rose for the first time over 2,000 dollars. This has more than doubled since March.
What is a bitcoin at all?
The Bitcoin is a digital currency that was created less than ten years ago. It has invented Satoshi Nakamoto - but it is still unclear who is behind the name. An article was published under the name in 2008 describing how digital transactions can be processed.
Since then bitcoins are generated by computers and traded on platforms on the Internet against classical currencies. In contrast to the euro or dollar, bitcoins are not subject to control by states or central banks. Bitcoin is one of the key cryptos .
Are there other cryptanings?
Yes. Currently, 830 cryptos are traded worldwide according to relevant Internet sites. The highest market capitalization therefore has $ 35 billion of Bitcoin. The next smaller currency Ethereum reached a market capitalization of about 17 billion dollars.
Where are Bitcoins stored?
Simply put, owners of Bitcoins can keep the money in a password-protected wallet on the computer .The key to bitcoins can also be printed on paper.
How to get Bitcoins?
A prerequisite for this is a software on the computer. There are two possibilities: Either "digs" the digital coins - in return, the user has to provide the network with expensive computing power. Possibility two: One exchanges euro on online exchanges against Bitcoins .
Is the currency a suitable investment?
The Bundesbank had warned savers about money investments in the digital currency: the Bitcoin was "a speculative object" whose value is rapidly changing, said Bundesbank board member Carl-Ludwig Thiele of the "Welt am Sonntag". However, an increased interest in the currency can be observed: The Munich Bitcoin table, which meets once a month, registered a new record at the latest meeting of 40 participants. "The rising course is probably a reason," assumes co-organizer Michael Epner.
Why is Bitcoin's course soaring at all?
Lastly, two developments led the course: on the one hand, Japan had declared the bitcoin as an official means of payment . On the other hand, the SEC could allow a bitcoin-based index fund to make the digital currency salonable in the classic financial market.
What are the problems with Bitcoin?
The anonymity of the payment traffic calls criminals on the plan. The Federal Office for Security in Information Technology (BSI) in Bonn has warned for a long time that "anonymous payment methods such as Bitcoin have created new opportunities for cyber criminals in the marketing of attack tools, but also in extortion."
The most recent example: victims of the attack wave of the WannaCry malicious program were prompted to transfer a certain sum of bitcoins - only then will the previously encrypted computer be released again. The "Islamic State" is also to deal in Bitcoin .
Why is Bitcoin so far hardly a part of Germany?
In Germany, the euro is a legal payment . Wages are paid in euros, prices of goods and services are almost always denominated in euros - and the value of Bitcoin changes constantly to the Euro.
What are the consequences of this in practice?
One example: the Munich Bar branch at the Gärtnerplatz accepted bitcoins until about two years ago. It was interesting not only for Bitcoin enthusiasts but also for tourists. Each month, the bar averaged a Bitcoin turnover of 200 to 400 euros. The digital coins were transferred by smartphone.
For the bar operator, however, price fluctuations proved to be one of several problems: as drinks were offered at a fixed bitcoin price, exchange rate gains could be incurred - and they were subject to tax law and led to additional administrative expenses . Nevertheless there are in Germany some hotels and online shops accepting Bitcoins.
How do central banks react to the cryptos?
The Bundesbank observed the development with a certain curiosity - but also skepticism. As early as November Bundesbank board member Thiele doubted that the bitcoin was a currency at all. Thiele pointed out that money actually had to fulfill three characteristics: First, money was a barter in trade , secondly, money could be kept in order to be used later as a means of barter, and thirdly, the value of goods in terms of money could be expressed.
Do not these conditions also apply to Bitcoins?
Thiele doubts this: there are too few traders who accept bitcoins - so separate bitcoin as a means of exchange. He is also not a value-preserving agent - market capitalization is too small for this. When holding bitcoins, the speculative motif plays a role.
" Bitcoin is not even a computing unit, " he argued, "even Bitcoin enthusiasts give the value of their bitcoin in US dollars or euros." Also, for virtual currencies, there is no requirement against a bank, but only the right to transfer bitcoins. "No one has to accept bitcoins as cash."
Why does the Bundesbank still observe the development with curiosity?
The Bundesbank is less interested in Bitcoin itself, but rather in the technology behind it. According to Thiele, this offers not only disadvantages but also advantages. Thiele, for example, sees a possible use ofthe technology in securities processing .