Future Money

   

     

Whether Bitcoin will be future of money or not, that is debatable. But, there is a need for a global exchangeable and tradable currency and at this time the gap is being filled by Bitcoins. Offlate there has been a lot of online press around Bitcoin. What exactly is Bitcoin? Complete details on Bitcoin can be found athttp://bitcoin.org/en/ At a high-level Bitcoin is a digital currency software that enables worldwide instant peer-to-peer transactions across with low or zero processing fees. It can also be called the Open source currency. The concept of Bitcoin was originally developed in 2008 when Satoshi Nakamoto (pseudonymous developer) published a paper mentioning how Bitcoins can work.


How can I get Bitcoins? As I understand it there are two ways to get Bitcoins (a) You can buy bitcoins with money or (b) mine them using your computer to look for 64 digit number by computer repeatedly solve puzzles to generate the number that bitcoin number is looking for. Today the current value of a one Bitcoin (BTC) is worth $159. You can get the current value at http://preev.com/. The bit coin currency in couple of months time has gone from the $30 per Bitcoin to $159 and the value of all bitcoins in circulation is said to be at $1.6 billion.

Mining of Bitcoin or the hardware used to mine Bitcoins has also become a business in itself. Concepts such as "Mining Rig" (which means a computer used for mining Bitcons) and "Mining hardware" (specialized hardware that help mine Bitcoins) are also getting common. Information on Mining Rig can be found here and information on comparision of mining hardware can be found here. Bitcoin has not only created buzz among general public but also created business for hardware manufacturers. There have been lot of debates between using of CPU Vs GPU and the power consumed to mine a Bitcoin. It has been claimed that the cost of mining a Bitcoin using GPU might actually be lot higher than buying it from a Bitcoin Exchange.


How to buy Bitcoins? You can purchase Bitcoins from Bitcoin exchanges like Mt. Gox and Bitsmap. There is high demand for Bitcoins and hence memberships at Mt. Gox is only by new membership application. There are two methods how one can pay for Bitcoins (a) by providing you bank account details to an exchange and transfer money and (b) pay the money (cash) to a cash-payment service who further makes the payment tot a Bitcoin exchange account. (Learn more at https://www.bitstamp.net/help/how-to-buy/ )


As there is no central repository it would be difficult for governments to completely stop Bitcoins use. There has also been a lot of negative press for Bitcoins as one can own Bitcoins without declaring their identify and this has led to lot of discussions on how the currency can be used for terroism, drugs, guns etc. It also can be an option to store black money. Legality, At this point in time Bitcoins are legal as its not "tender" that is having coins and bills. There are legitimate business too that have started accepting Bitcoins. For example, Howard Johnson Hotels accepts Bitcoins and infact stores that accept only Bitcoins are coming into existence. One such store is BitElectronics.

Payment processing companies such as Visa, Mastercard, Discover, Amex and Paypal charge fees for transactions. With Bitcoin coming into the scene (and if it is here to stay) the payment processing companies would have to think one up. Bitcoin helps the consumer get the goods at a lower price as they dont have to pay the transaction fees to the payment processors. But, these payment processing companies have the backing and support of the federal government and at some time the pressure will mount the government will have to do some thing about it. There are stories different stories doing the rounds and one of them is that this might be a scheme which has the US government backing and at the right the US government will pull the plug on this. There are also issue about who owns the Patent for Bitcoin and Wallstreet currently claims to own the Patents.


At this time there is huge demand for Bitcoin and it is said that this is a way where the early adopters will make money. The hype is around and the value going up and hence more excitement what will be the future of Bitcoin time and usage of the same will make it clear. I am looking at getting couple bitcoins just curb my urge for the same. But, I surely want to exit before this bubble bursts as a lot of people claim (and at this time) it to be like a Pyramid Scheme. I would like to see this scheme be a real one and not a Pyramid scheme. When new products and inventions come into market there is lot of skeptism and I hope this is the same. Is it the future of Money? Yes, I would like to think so but I dont call the shots, Let's see what the Feds have to say