Bitcoin the Cryptocurrency: Stimulating Global Economic Growth
Bitcoin is a form of digital currency that is similar to physical cash stored in a digital form. It is the first fully implemented cryptocurrency protocol utilizing an open source peer-to-peer payment system. As a transfer protocol, it fundamentally functions as a money transfer medium that sends bitcoins from user to user without the need of a third-party intermediary and the system is protected by peer-reviewed cryptographic algorithms. This cryptographic digital currency simultaneously provides users a method to exchange money for free or a nominal fee, which is mutually beneficial for retailers and consumers. The main concern is that it can be used for illegal activities such as the purchase of drugs, weapons and other illegal goods. Albeit true, the concern also exists with all other forms of regulated currency, such as cash and wire transfers. Anonymity is one of the greatest Bitcoin perks, however, nothing is as untraceable as cash. It is the solution to the leading economic and security issues that have left everyone vulnerable, particularly in the wake after the Target security breach in which hackers stole unencrypted credit card and debit card data for 40 million customers’ as well as their pins over the span of two weeks before it was detected. In addition, these hackers were also able to obtain the names, addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses of 70 million customers (Andreesen 6). If Bitcoin were to be used as the standard form of payment, the transaction data does not identify the purchaser’s identity and all information is encrypted. It is the most secure payment method and is a more secure future. Bitcoin is a technologically innovative soluti...
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Many would say that Bitcoin is a revolutionary new currency, in fact, it is the first currency of its type. It is completely decentralized from governments, it is created as a payment for computer processing power and recording payments into a public ledger. This process is called “mining”. It allows users to process economic activity of the Bitcoin currency, when the currency’s transactions are processed, the computer that processed the transaction gets a tiny reward for its processing power. This is how new Bitcoins are created. To claim the reward, a special transaction called a coinbase is included in the processed payments, all Bitcoins in existence can be traced back to their original coinbase transaction. Right now the reward for adding a block is 25 Bitcoins, that number will be halved in 2017 to 12.5, and then will be halved again every 4 years. Eventually there will be no reward other than the transaction fee, this will occur around the year 2140. Payers have a large incentive to include a transaction fee because then their transaction is usually processed by other users more quickly. People processing have the option to choose whether to process transactions that include a transaction fee or just the standard reward. This is just a small outline of how Bitcoins work.
Bitcoins experienced tremendous growth in 2017. World leading retailers such as Dell, PayPal, Microsoft and Expedia accept bitcoins as a means of payment. Publications are always publishing bitcoin news and forums discussing this cryptocurrency and how its traded. This has resulted in a lot of media and investor attention. This article, therefore, tries to explain to the readers what bitcoins are, how to buy them, their features, how they work and their advantages.
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When you think of the internet, usually what first comes to mind is social networking, online marketplaces, and other places that don’t sound that bad. Look deeper and you’ll find that the internet isn’t as nice as you thought it was. This “dark side” of the net is comprised of everything looked down upon in the real world – drugs, weapons, false identities, and even hit men for hire exist in this rough-and-tumble darknet. Not just physical products, but virtual products float around as well; from term papers to file sharing and even e-currency populate this dark area.
The documentary Banking on Bitcoin from director Chris Cannucciari was a documentary released in 2016. Throughout this documentary Cannucciari asserts that the cryptocurrency Bitcoin is the future. Using Bitcoin experts and enthusiasts, this documentary is working to persuade people that Bitcoins peer to peer non-centralized system is the future and should be used over traditional banking methods. The targeted audience for this documentary is businesses, government officials, and anyone interested in the Bitcoin technology. The tone of this documentary is ardent while also informative.
The article ‘Minting Pure Reason’ written by Jyotirmoy Bhattacharya concentrates on the mechanism of bitcoins, security concerns while trading using bitcoins and pros and cons of using bitcoins as a currency. The author also questions whether bitcoins, in future can replace actual currencies (referred to as ‘little pieces of coloured paper’ in the article).
On the other hand, there is the element of widespread profit from the market of the electronic currency. The ones who [participate...
It is important to note, that while Bitcoin can be very difficult to understand, most people don't fully understand most of today’s technologies that influence their everyday lives such as telephones, cell phones, the internet, and computers.
Since its creation in the ‘60s, the Internet has paved the way for numerous phenomenons that have affected the way that we live, the way we communicate and that have affected the worlds economy. One of those phenomenons include the prosperous crypto currencies. A country where crypto-currencies have succeeded is both the United States and Japan; Bitcoin’s creator originated from Japan. These two countries possess the two largest crypto-currency exchanges, with Mt. Gox in Japan dealing over 70% of all Bitcoin transfers and exchanges. The btc-e is the American
In recent times, the company Ripple and its crypto-token XRP have been spread far and wide around the monstrous void that is the internet. Via social media sites, YouTube videos, blogs, news headlines, and more XRP as almost become a household name. As a result of this widespread growth in popularity, masses of people have become obsessed with “Ripple” and want to know “how to purchase XRP” and “what the price of XRP amount to by year’s end”. With so much being said and so many people interested it is highly beneficial to inform the general public on what Ripple actually is and the precise function of XRP.
According to Zakary M. Seward (2013), “Virtual currencies have been viewed as a form electronic money or area of payment system technology that has been evolving over the last past 20 years” (Seward, 2013). Virtual currency such as Bitcoin are not issues by central bank; instead they are created or mined by a group of anonymous programmers under the name Satoshi Nakamoto (Barry, 2014). Bitcoin can be sent and received through the internet, similar to sending cash digitally. The currency is exchange through the decentralized Bitcoin network, without going through an external financial institution or government. Virtual currency is a big problem. People from all over the word can exchange virtual currencies for traditional currencies through the online services. Many clients exchange goods and services by using virtual currency such Bitcoin. If people buy bitcoins, they don’t physically purchase goods by handing notes or tokens to the seller. They are used for electronic purchases and transfers. A lot of big companies use the form of virtual currency. For example, Apple provides iTunes users the option of buying prepaid iTunes gift cards that contains credits that can be redeemed for music and movies. You...
Bitcoin is a peer-to-peer electronic cash system & digital currency introduced as open source software in 2009 by Satoshi Nakamoto.
The invention of money is perhaps one of the greatest achievements of human civilization. From the very beginning of society, people have used money to circumvent the difficulties of bartering and to foster trade and commerce. Since then, money has come a long way. No longer do we need to rely on silver coins, cocoa beans, or even anything of intrinsic value to conduct our business; today, we use paper currency, which is convenient and easy to carry around. But slowly, we are moving into the digital age of money, an age in which less of our money is actually tangible and more of it is just data on a computer server. To some, this prospect may seem daunting. However, given the major advantages of electronic money over outmoded paper counterpart, society as a whole should embrace the upcoming era of digital money.