Bitcoin And Other Cryptocurrencies: Quick Money Or A Way To Lose Them?

Cryptocurrencies, and special bitcoin, are like some politicians – you either love them or you damn them. In the eyes of young people, trends are a way to make money fast. Financiers see in them a black hole, where sooner or later millions of euros will evaporate. Is the truth somewhere in the middle?

Bitcoin may look like the latest fad, but it’s not. He has found himself in the whirlwind of the investment slump only a few months back, but he has existed since 2009. Let’s take a trip to the mysterious world of this phenomenon, during which you may re-evaluate how you perceive it.

What is bitcoin?

Bitcoin represents the computational power, there is no real value behind it. It was artificially created by a person or group with the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto. It’s a cryptocurrency, so you’ll never see it – it only exists in digital form. So how is it different from the classic euros you have in your account?

Crypto means are based on cryptography, a scientific field that deals with the creation and study of encryption mechanisms. You will find cryptography at every step today: it protects your money when paying over the Internet or your e-mails through the eyes of a third party. Cryptocurrency creation and transaction mechanisms make good use of math and coding, which you can read about in detail, for example, on this portal.

How to get to bitcoins?

Mining

For many years, this was the best way for an ordinary mortal to dig into them. You ran a special program on your computer and the hunt for a virtual treasure from an office chair could begin. Computers were given a mathematical task, and the one who managed to calculate it the fastest obtained bitcoin (or some fraction of it).

Gradually, the complexity of these tasks increases as the number of machines that start mining. At present, it is practically impossible to extract coins from the home environment because it requires a huge amount of energy and computing power.

How much is that is very difficult to calculate? However, it is estimated that approximately as much energy is spent per year on bitcoin mining as Denmark consumes in the same period. 

By purchase

If you decide to buy bitcoin, you will find one portal on each finger that will mediate this purchase. But beware of fraudsters. There is no recipe for recognizing them with certainty and blockchain technology.

The benefits of bitcoin

It is decentralized

This means that it is not regulated by any government, bank, or anyone, allegedly even by its creators. With common currencies, people are controlled in many ways: they have to pay taxes, deductions, or levies. Since the owner of it is practically untraceable, he can keep all the intake in the cryptocurrency.

Bitcoin is also not subject to any “classical” regulations, inflation or deflation, managed by central banks.

It’s safe

If you have bitcoin assets, no one can steal or access them without your permission. Theoretically.

It can be moved quickly and cheaply between different countries

This is definitely a benefit that you will use if, for example, you often send money to Asia or the United States.

Disadvantages of bitcoin

It is decentralized

As usual, most people can burn their hands on the most attractive bitcoin lamp. Life without rules does not cease to attract us, even though we are totally incapable of living it.

It is funny to watch people approach regulations that have been devised primarily to protect their savings and interests. Once the value of bitcoin falls from $ 7,000 to 7 cents, there will be no safety nets, no complaints, no consumer rights, no restructuring, and the vast majority of investors will lose all the money they put into bitcoins.

It is (almost) untraceable

Another thing that criminals get the most out of. Bitcoin was the “official currency” of the infamous Silk Road portal, where drugs, child pornography, and weapons could be found. Simply a place we should “definitely” be inspired by.

Every bitcoin transaction is recorded, but it is practically impossible to identify the buyer or seller.

Is it worth investing in something at all?

Did you get the urge to invest thanks to bitcoin? Excellent. Keep this taste. However, it must not be forgotten that if something looks like light earnings, it is probably a hoax. Big money or cryptocurrency can only be made quickly if someone else loses it. And try to guess which side the little players will end up on.

Also read: What prompted the launch of Blockchain?