You may have heard of the latest digital currency, Bitcoin, and are curious of what exactly it is. Bitcoin has made news by its gradual attempt to become the global currency for the public. This currency was created in 2009 by an unknown individual that goes by the alias Satoshi Nakamoto.
A unit of Bitcoin specifically can be used for online transactions between people- without the assistance of banks. This idea has been favored for its nonattachment to any country regulation. People are buying into this currency as an investment because they are hoping the value will rise.
There is also anonymity to Bitcoin since buyers and sellers are never revealed. A person who has Bitcoin will have a wallet ID attached to the purchase and the purchase cannot be easily traced back to the person.
This currency is slowly being accepted in different industries and by different companies. For example, this is a list of companies accepting Bitcoin currently.
- Apple
- DISH
- Overstock.com
- WordPress
- Zynga
- Paypal
- eBay
- Tesla
- Tigerdirect.com
The list goes on to musical artists like Spice Girl, Mel B and rapper 50 Cent as those accepting Bitcoin for the purchase of their latest albums.
However, there have been many industries that will take a huge hit if Bitcoin does take the place as a global currency. Since there are no credit card fees or taxes attached, there have been many companies against the whole idea of Bitcoin. MasterCard has currently hired lobbyists against Bitcoin and other virtual currencies.
It will be an interesting future with Bitcoin and its potential survival and success. What do you think about this latest currency?
Are you investing in Bitcoin? Do you think more companies (maybe telecommunication service providers) are likely to jump onto the trend and start accepting payments for services like Hosted PBX or MPLS?
