08
de Setembre
de
2015 - 05:30
Act.
08
de Setembre
de
2015 - 9:00
The volume of bitcoin currency invested as venture capital in start-ups was 100 million euros in 2013, some 295 million dollars in 2014 and, already in 2015, the total has surpassed 750 million. If we add the fact that there are more than 120,000 online stores that accept payments in bitcoin and that an important retail outlet in Japan has facilitated 20,000 shops to accept bitcoin payments, we can be quite optimistic about the widespread level of acceptance of this new cryptocurrency in society.
Bearing this in mind, we must first ask what is a cryptocurrency? It is a digital system of exchange controlled by elements of modern electronic cryptography. In short, it is a mathematical protocol that can be used as a system of real currency in a digital context. At the end of the 1990s, the first studies and proposals about the creation of a cryptocurrency began to appear, but it was not until the end of 2009 that a cryptographer with the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto created Bitcoin, perhaps the most well-known cryptocurrency of them all. However, the truth is that a number of cryptocurrencies have been created in recent years, such as Litecoin, Peercoin and Faircoin.
Advantages for users
The main advantage of a cryptocurrency is that it does not belong to any one State or government and can be used anywhere in the world, independently of geographical and political barriers. As a an element of digital cryptography, it can be carried on mobile phones, laptops and it is completely and immediately digitally transferable, in an email message, for instance. It is worth mentioning that bitcoin is anonymous, thus there is no need for a bank account or to register personal information with any financial entity in order to use it. No one is forced to reveal their identity, something that makes bitcoin particularly useful in countries in which there is a totalitarian regime.
In terms of cryptography, bitcoin or any other cryptocurrency is impossible to counterfeit, by definition a false bitcoin cannot be made nor a duplicate payment without the net detecting it. Security is, without doubt, one of its most recognised virtues. The technology on which the bitcoin protocol is based is a number of times more secure than using bank credit cards and, moreover, it is totally transparent because all transactions are recorded in a freely-accessible registry.
One of the most relevant premises of cryptocurrency is that its value does not depend on the involvement of a central bank. There is no regulator and no committee of "experts" controlling what happens with bitcoin. There is a limit on its issue and the increase in its monetary mass (programmed from the beginning in the original protocol), allows it to fight deflation and at the same time increase the purchasing power of users as they continue to use it. Currently, a bitcoin can be divided up to eight decimal places.
As far as shops are concerned, there is another advantage that avoids any type of fraud or return of payment: bitcoin transactions are irreversible and there are no intermediaries who can cancel the transaction. Moreover, cryptocurrencies accrue fewer transaction expenses than credit cards, bank transfers, currency exchanges and even Paypal, because paying with bitcoin removes intermediaries.
How can they be obtained?
Cryptocurrencies can be obtained in different ways, and naturally on the net, but there is nothing more convenient and secure for the user than getting it through a physical cash machine. At bitcoin cash machines you put in cash and get bitcoins in return, without any need for identification or complicated processes.
Substitution of traditional currencies
As users adopt cryptocurrencies they will slowly gain ground over traditional currencies. Bitcoin has more than attractive characteristics to offer the individual monetary independence. Governments want to gradually withdraw cash money in order to force people to use credit cards and thus have greater control over purchasing habits and the behaviour of users. However, cryptocurrencies allow anyone to be the genuine owner of their money, without the need for any intermediary.
Bearing this in mind, we must first ask what is a cryptocurrency? It is a digital system of exchange controlled by elements of modern electronic cryptography. In short, it is a mathematical protocol that can be used as a system of real currency in a digital context. At the end of the 1990s, the first studies and proposals about the creation of a cryptocurrency began to appear, but it was not until the end of 2009 that a cryptographer with the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto created Bitcoin, perhaps the most well-known cryptocurrency of them all. However, the truth is that a number of cryptocurrencies have been created in recent years, such as Litecoin, Peercoin and Faircoin.
Advantages for users
The main advantage of a cryptocurrency is that it does not belong to any one State or government and can be used anywhere in the world, independently of geographical and political barriers. As a an element of digital cryptography, it can be carried on mobile phones, laptops and it is completely and immediately digitally transferable, in an email message, for instance. It is worth mentioning that bitcoin is anonymous, thus there is no need for a bank account or to register personal information with any financial entity in order to use it. No one is forced to reveal their identity, something that makes bitcoin particularly useful in countries in which there is a totalitarian regime.
In terms of cryptography, bitcoin or any other cryptocurrency is impossible to counterfeit, by definition a false bitcoin cannot be made nor a duplicate payment without the net detecting it. Security is, without doubt, one of its most recognised virtues. The technology on which the bitcoin protocol is based is a number of times more secure than using bank credit cards and, moreover, it is totally transparent because all transactions are recorded in a freely-accessible registry.
One of the most relevant premises of cryptocurrency is that its value does not depend on the involvement of a central bank. There is no regulator and no committee of "experts" controlling what happens with bitcoin. There is a limit on its issue and the increase in its monetary mass (programmed from the beginning in the original protocol), allows it to fight deflation and at the same time increase the purchasing power of users as they continue to use it. Currently, a bitcoin can be divided up to eight decimal places.
As far as shops are concerned, there is another advantage that avoids any type of fraud or return of payment: bitcoin transactions are irreversible and there are no intermediaries who can cancel the transaction. Moreover, cryptocurrencies accrue fewer transaction expenses than credit cards, bank transfers, currency exchanges and even Paypal, because paying with bitcoin removes intermediaries.
How can they be obtained?
Cryptocurrencies can be obtained in different ways, and naturally on the net, but there is nothing more convenient and secure for the user than getting it through a physical cash machine. At bitcoin cash machines you put in cash and get bitcoins in return, without any need for identification or complicated processes.
Substitution of traditional currencies
As users adopt cryptocurrencies they will slowly gain ground over traditional currencies. Bitcoin has more than attractive characteristics to offer the individual monetary independence. Governments want to gradually withdraw cash money in order to force people to use credit cards and thus have greater control over purchasing habits and the behaviour of users. However, cryptocurrencies allow anyone to be the genuine owner of their money, without the need for any intermediary.