Bitcoin is the world’s first decentralized form of digital currency. Because it runs on a peer-to-peer protocol, transactions between users are made directly through the use of cryptography, without an intermediary like a bank or other financial institution.
The advantages to this system are many, the first among them being cost-effectiveness. A Visa transaction can run into the tens (or even hundreds) of dollars, depending on what you’re buying and where you live.
For Investors, that means fees upwards of 3%. With Bitcoin, there are typically only costs for converting fiat currencies to BTC (typically around 1%) and because there’s no third party involved in validating transactions – another 1% or so is saved as well. This means that Investors who accept save 3-4% on all transactions.
But the benefits don’t stop there either, because Bitcoin is decentralized, it cannot be inflated by any national government. This means that Investors accepting BTC will not have to worry about currency swings when exchanging back into fiat currencies, which also makes them immune to any governmental or banking institutions trying to devalue their holdings with inflationary policies.
Advantages of Bitcoin
Low Transaction fee
Bitcoin payments are completely free, no fees are required for Investors to receive into their wallets, similarly, there is no fee for customers who wish to send bitcoins as well. Keeping your funds in bitcoins rather than converting them into other currencies can also save you money since there are little-to-no fees associated with storing BTC.
There are no transaction fees with bitcoin unless you want to speed your transactions up by offering a small tip (which will probably be worth it if you value your time).You can check bitcoin-code.io for more information.
Decentralized
Because Bitcoin is decentralized, no third party or government can interfere with transactions. This means that Investors accepting bitcoins won’t have to worry about paying extra fees or having to wait days for the money they’re owed.
There’s no central authority that could be pressured into making changes, giving users complete freedom over the direction of the currency. It’s also fully open-source, which means that anyone can take a look at its code to ensure it does what it says on the tin.
The only downside is that there is no customer service line you can call if your wallet app starts making funny noises or your coins disappear into thin air, learning how to work with this properly is essential for everyday use.
Immune from inflation
Unlike many other countries whose national currencies are being inflated by their governments, acceptance of bitcoins means immunity from inflationary policies. For Investors, this also means that they don’t have to worry about losing out on profit due to currency devaluation.
Security and control over funds: these transactions are made directly between users and the funds are never held by a third party or intermediary, so there’s no risk of fraud. Additionally, since the network is decentralized – there’s no way for anyone to take control over those funds through force, as there’s no central authority that could be pressured into making changes.
Censorship resistance
Bitcoin is designed to resist censorship from any third party, so this transaction cannot be stopped or reversed once they’ve been broadcast to the network. This means you can make payments even in areas where traditional financial transactions have been blocked off by governments.
This doesn’t mean that Bitcoin is a truly anonymous currency, although it has advanced privacy features, all bitcoin transactions are recorded in a public ledger known as ‘The blockchain‘. While it’s not necessarily simple to tie your address with your real-world identity, it is possible for those who know how to do so.
This means that the combination of anonymity and pseudonymity in Bitcoin can be a double-edged sword – while you’re safe from interference by third parties, law enforcement agencies may still be able to identify you based on your transactions.
Ephemerality
All these transactions are broadcasted over the network immediately, but they are never confirmed or made irreversible until they have been included in ‘The blockchain’ which typically takes up to an hour.
This means that there is usually no risk of fraud during this period, but traders can’t guarantee that their customers will end the deal before the transaction has been made irreversible.
Bitcoin is a truly revolutionary technology that’s currently in its infancy, but it already offers a lot of benefits for Investors who choose to adopt this new payment method. Regardless of whether you want to support the concept of decentralized currency or just save money – accepting bitcoin payments can be a great way to do so.
Strong Security
The security of that kind of wallets is extremely strong, cryptography is used to make sure that users’ funds are protected against theft and unauthorized access. Bitcoins themselves are stored securely in the wallet until it’s time to spend them.
Ease of use
Bitcoin transactions are very quick and easy, for example, if Bob sends 3 BTC (which value at the time was $500) to Alice, once she opens her wallet app it would show that she now has 3 BTC worth $500.
There’s no additional information required when spending bitcoins, unlike with credit cards or bank accounts where you need to specify your billing address, ID, etc before making any purchases.
Transparency
All bitcoin transactions are recorded and available for everyone to see on ‘The blockchain’ , a publicly distributed ledger that keeps track of all transactions and is constantly growing. This means that it’s not possible to surreptitiously alter the history of transactions or go back and alter transaction details after the fact.
Economically Sustainable
Due to its low-cost and decentralized nature, Bitcoin is the most economically sustainable payment network in existence. Due to there being no third party that can collect fees from transactions, transaction costs will remain low without having to increase the base bitcoin block reward which already provides for annual inflation of 8%.
This seems unlikely to change anytime soon due to bitcoin’s very strong deflationary aspect due to its 21 million total hard limit.
Final Words
This has already made a big impact on the global financial market, some even believe that it’s going to completely disrupt traditional payment solutions in the not-so-distant future.
If you want to be at the forefront of this technology you’ll have to get your hands on some bitcoins, then you can start accepting them for your business or services and see how beneficial they are for yourself!
