Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies are the reigning names in the world of online business transactions. There is no doubt about that. In fact, in recent times, the mention of the word “bitcoin” alone elicits some kind of wild excitement among young and old people alike.
Some people see the evolving cryptocurrency as a means of making fast cash without really working for it very much. Others see it as a way of ensuring an everlasting, easy flow of side income on which they can really all their lives. Others, however, have been hearing of the term but have not quite come to understand what it all means.
So, what exactly is bitcoin and how is it changing the world along with other cryptocurrencies?
Let’s talk about this!
Simply put, Bitcoin is money! That’s it. It is money just not in the traditional sense of it. Bitcoin is digital money. You can’t hold it in your hands as you hold a naira or dollar bill but you can spend it in the same way you spend the naira or a dollar bill. You can trade with it; make purchases, receive payments with it as well make transfers just like any other kind of money.
Bitcoin has been described as the internet of money, a phrase which was coined by Andreas M. Antonopoulos, a staunch bitcoin advocate. He explained bitcoin as “The concept of decentralization applied to the human communication of value.”
Now apart from the word bitcoin, you may also have been hearing of the word “cryptocurrency and may be wondering what that one is too.
Cryptocurrency is described as a digital currency. In other words, it is digital money which has been designed to be a medium of exchange using cryptography.
So, basically, Bitcoin is a type of cryptocurrency. There are other cryptocurrencies or digital currencies in existence.
So how are bitcoin and cryptocurrency changing the world today? Let’s take a look at the following.
1. With Bitcoin, There Is Decentralization of Power
This is one major factor that has affected the way the world views bitcoin. It is common knowledge that all forms of currency are centralized. This means that there is a central control, a central organization controlling it. However, with bitcoin, there is no such thing. With bitcoin, there is a complete decentralization. This means that the need for middlemen as Nigerian banks would normally serve as middlemen for transactions in naira.
Bitcoin is changing the world. It is a whole and completely radical departure from normal tradition. With bitcoin, the transaction is directly from one person to another and there is no need for any central organization to come in as regulators. Bitcoin cannot be stopped mainly for this reason. For other currencies, it is easy for the central organizations behind them to control or even stop them, but with bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, there is no such thing. No central server runs bitcoin which is why bitcoin has been described in some quarters as a virus that will keep spreading as long as the internet and storage capacity continue to exist.
READ ALSO: Check Out 5 Important Ways Technology Will Change Marketing In 2018
2. With Bitcoin, There Is Instant Transactions
One thing that makes bitcoin very desirable is its high speed. With bitcoin, there is instant delivery. We are talking about delivery within seconds. When someone sends you bitcoin, it shows up in your wallet within seconds thus making other forms of transactions appear really slow.
You have to understand that the world is already fast-paced. Everybody is things very fast and people want things done for them very fast. The impatience is everywhere. This is why people are accepting bitcoin because of its speed which compliments their need for instant delivery.
More people are making bitcoin their major means of financial transaction in the contemporary world and as technology grows, boosting the already fast-paced world, more and more people will seek to benefit from its speed.
3. With Bitcoin, There Is Global Connectivity
This one is the most significant appeal of bitcoin. The currency has global acceptability and connectivity as its strong magnets to pull people to it. Unlike dollars which you cannot spend in Nigeria and the naira that you cannot spend in America, bitcoin can be spent anywhere in the world. In other words, it is acceptable anywhere you go!
This is a sharp deviation from normal, accepted practices around the world. With bitcoin, the world can become one small community where money is one and where people can transact without having to worry about the acceptability.
As the internet of money, bitcoin connects everybody globally thus making boundaries and its discriminatory tendencies quite irrelevant.
