Should You Invest in Bitcoin?

 
Cryptocurrency fever is sweeping the world and creating a new financial bubble that many see as a viable investment opportunity. Should you invest your money into this virtual asset class or completely avoid it? The Bitcoin market presents opportunity and risk for anyone willing to get involved. If you are still new to the cryptocurrency game or have never heard about it before now, here is everything you need to know to make an informed decision about whether or not to invest your savings into this crypto asset.
Bitcoin Explained
Bitcoin was created in late 2009 by Satoshi Nakamoto. Nakamoto developed an algorithm that formed the basis of what is known as the Blockchain. This technology is an electronic ledger system that is totally transparent and the backbone of every Bitcoin transaction.
Miners mine Bitcoin using powerful supercomputers that run the algorithm to unlock blocks of Bitcoin. When the coins have been mined they are then sold to Bitcoin exchanges where they are made available to the public for sale.
Is Bitcoin Real Money?
Bitcoin has many of the features of sound money. It is portable, divisible, fungible, and a unit of exchange. The only place where it does not measure up to the standards of real money is in its intrinsic value. Bitcoin is not known as a store of value in the same way that gold coins are. However, Bitcoin is gaining market traction and more people and retailers are turning to Bitcoin to complete transactions in the marketplace.
The primary feature of Bitcoin that makes it attractive to investors and the public is the fact that it is not controlled by any central bank or government authority. This means that Bitcoin is a decentralized currency that cannot be manipulated by central banks and cannot be controlled by any world government. The sovereign nature of Bitcoin has made it incredibly popular as an asset that can be transferred anywhere in the world with little exchange fees and immediate transfer.
Where Can I Purchase Bitcoin?
Purchasing Bitcoin is as simple as applying for a payday loan companies in Baton Rouge. A user would log onto a Bitcoin exchange and arrange a sale with a seller at a given market price. The buyer deposits fiat currency into the seller’s bank account and the seller then sends a code to an online wallet created by the user at the exchange. Once the Bitcoin reflects in the exchange wallet, the buyer can then transfer it to their own external wallet where the coin can be saved or spent. These wallets are completely encrypted and cannot be hacked by online thieves.
Who Accepts Bitcoin?
 
Bitcoin has been adopted as a legitimate form of payment in many countries, with the most recent being Japan who recognized Bitcoin as money at the beginning of April this year.  This is said to have been the catalyst that caused Bitcoin’s recent hyperbolic rise in price.
Many online retailers now accept Bitcoin for their products and services. However, it is also possible to spend Bitcoin anywhere that accepts MasterCard. Bitcoin wallet companies such as Xapo offer Debit cards that can be issued to wallet holders and used to pay for goods and services while debiting the funds from their Bitcoin wallet.
More retailers are accepting Bitcoin and once in gains traction as a payment method, we can expect to see a further price gain as the coins reach higher daily trading volumes on exchanges. At present total daily volume of Bitcoin trading exceeds $4 billion per day. The pace at which Bitcoin is being traded is accelerating with no signs of slowing in the near future.
Bitcoin Into the Future
The future of Bitcoin is still uncertain. There are experts in finance and tech on both sides of the fence that say Bitcoin will rise and others say it will fall to zero. One thing is certain, with Bitcoin being an independent currency that cannot be controlled by central banks, it will continue to be adopted by the public as a hedge against central bank currency manipulation.
The current debt loads of the international monetary system point to a cataclysmic event in the future that will see global currencies devalued and wittled away by hyperinflation. Owning Bitcoin circumvents this coming monetary disaster and secures the wealth of anyone that chooses the asset as a viable currency unit.