Otherwise referred to as electronic money or virtual currency. Bitcoin is a peer-to-peer payment system that offers a 21st century alternative to regular brick and mortar banking.Bitcoin is something that most users will never see and never touch beyond their the computer screens. Exchanges are made via wallet software rather than the traditional wallet in your back pocket and there exists no Central Bank or Authority.So the value of your bank balance is set entirely by the supply and demand of the market
As with all money, it's best if you're able to spend it. It's been gradual but there are more and more commodities becoming available to Bitcoin holders. Perhaps the most high-profile acceptor of the currency is Virgin Galactic, their upcoming space tourist flights are purchasable if you prefer your transport a little more traditional.Then Lamborghini is the first Motor Company to give the go-ahead and what car stereo would be complete without Spice Girl Mel B she was the first musician to recognize payments for her music.
The Bitcoin Supply is finite. Production of Bitcoins is romantically called mining with millions of dollars worth of mined or exchanged electronically each day. Every Bitcoin transaction is verified using an extremely complex algorithm and these verifications are done by a large network of mining computers competing against each other.
When a miner successfully verifies a transaction he or she is rewarded with a small amount of Bitcoins. This is also how new Bitcoins are introduced into the system and mining is a lot of work.Globally the network of mining computers are now 250 times more powerful than the worlds top 500 supercomputers combined . This is also how new Bitcoins are introduced into the system and mining is a lot of work.Globally the network of mining computers are now 250 times more powerful than the worlds top 500 supercomputers combined
With no thing to hold in your hand, the Bitcoin's value might seem indecipherable and as a new concept, it does tend to fluctuate. However, in general the value seems to be increasing, in November 2011 after a crash, a Bitcoin was worth $2 USD in November 2013 Bitcoin topped $1,000 USD in value and briefly was worth more than an ounce of gold, today it's worth $2700 dollars and still increasing. Imagine the level of security when the first Bitcoin cash machine opened in Vancouver Canada.
An old saying says you have to speculate to accumulate and speculators are plenty when it comes to Bitcoin. Though there are winners there are inevitably losers too.
In February 2014 Mt Gox the one-time largest Bitcoin exchange was forced to file for bankruptcy protection due to possible hacking theft or mishandling that cost them in excess of 450 million dollars. Bitcoin is a currency that can lose up to 80% of its value in seconds so Mt Gox was in very big trouble very quickly.
Probably because it subverts the traditional banking system and works outside government regulation. Bitcoin is outlawed in many countries around the world and is heavily frowned upon by many others.In July 2013 Thailand became the first country to completely ban the currency though they later relaxed the ruling.China with its higher Global profile banned Banks from Trading Bitcoins in December of the same year. The US Treasury has also flexed its monetary muscles by shutting down a physical Bitcoin production company in 2013.
The number of Bitcoins that can exist is limited to 21 million and the production rate is scheduled to be halved every four years to ensure that the value of a Bitcoin is not lost. This means that the supply will run out around 2140 and although miners will no longer be rewarded with new Bitcoins they will still be paid for their efforts through transaction fees. As it stands today there are roughly 64% of Bitcoin laying unused in their respective accounts appreciating and depreciating with time.
The notorious and infamous organization, Wikileaks relies very heavily upon this futuristic form of Finance.
In mid-2011 the nonprofit whistleblower group began using Bitcoin as a method of processing donations because other money transfer companies wouldn't deal with them. To become so dependent on something so unpredictable is perhaps not the wisest of moves but so far using the cryptocurrency hasn't done a lot of harm to the media profile of Julian Assange and Company
"Watching the world change as a result of your work priceless"-Assange
The equally Infamous Silk Road website used Bitcoins as its form of currency. A black market trading site that specializes in illegal drugs and goods as well as some more reputable products, it provided browsers with an anonimity and made its money using Bitcoins. When alleged site founder Ross ulbricht was arrested. His estimated Fortune was so inconceivable that it's believed that well over half remains unaccounted for.
Satoshi Nakamoto is the person or persons behind Bitcoin. launching the software in 2009 Nakamoto passed majority control on to a scientist called Gavin Andresen in late 2010 and Anderson's comments capture Bitcoin perfectly
he says it's like better gold than gold
Nakamoto is believed to be in possession of 1 million Bitcoins equivalent to a lot of billion dollars, but his name is probably a pseudo name. The real identity of Satoshi Nakamoto is unknown it's been suggested that electronics companies Samsung Toshiba Nakamichi and Motorola are the founders, but there's been no confirmation. It's a mystery for the modern world.
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