Is Bitcoin a Safe Alternative?

With the rapid advancement of technology some peculiar and new ideas are changing the way we think about and approach problems. One bold new idea gaining popularity is the idea of cryptocurrencies, types of digital money that lets the user spend anonymously, bypass third parties, and purchase goods cheaply. Bitcoin, to date the most successful cryptocurrency, is a safer, cheaper, and more anonymous alternative option to using fiat money for online transactions. With the rise of personal computers and widespread access to the World Wide Web, it was inevitable that shopping by means of the internet would see a dramatic increase in use. Out of this online shopping boom, the idea of cutting out third-party middlemen by using a peer-2-peer networking system came to fruition. To create this network you needed an easy but secure way to exchange monies across the globe. Bitcoin or BTC was created for this purpose.

In the past few years it has become evident that many large companies and third-party affiliates such as PayPal, VISA, and Mastercard do not take adequate precautions to protect their shoppers financial information. Hackers, people who use software exploits to gain access to restricted information, have become increasingly bold in breaking into high profile companies and making off with the millions of dollars in loot. A Pulitzer Prize finalist in 2000, Kurt Eichenwald gave an example in Newsweek Global:

[A] single criminal -- known online as Soldier -- stole about $17,000 a day with SpyEye, raking in approximately $3.2 million in the first half of 2011, according to one report. Soldier appeared to have targeted three banks -- Chase, Wells Fargo and Bank of America -- and infected the computers of about 3,500 online custom...

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...to the pockets of banks. This same principle can be seen when dealing with international non-profit development and relief organizations. Bitcoin100.org is currently a group of 66 of these relief and development organizations that accept BTC in order to keep more of the money moving towards their individual end goals.

Bitcoin is currently the most popular, but only one of many cryptocurrencies that are beginning to to emerge as legitimate contenders to the established way in which we spend money. With each cryptocurrency being a little bit different, it will be fun to see which die and which can stand up in the cutthroat world of economics. BTC in particular being more safe and secure to use then traditional banking, lowering the prices of products, and being easily invested in developing countries, it is definitely an idea that needs to be talked more often about.