Bitcoin: A currency or scam?
The US dollar has been the world’s most popular currency for quite some time now. However, as the central banks keep meddling with the value of the dollar, people are looking to replace it. The most recent was Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of the digital currency: Bitcoin. Bitcoin has been making news headline ever since its creation in 2009. The million dollar question lies however: Is it really a currency or just a scam?
To answer this question, we must compare Bitcoin to the other forms of currencies like the US dollar, gold and silver in terms of durability, limited supply, divisibility and portability.
Durability:
The US dollar has been unreliable over the years, losing around 95% of its purchasing power in the last century. Gold and silver have proven to stay somewhat consistent and reliable over time. Similarly, the ones and zeros associated with Bitcoin will stay the same in the future. It is decentralized from any government or central bank, making its worth dependent on people’s value and demand.
Limited Supply:
Needless to say, the US dollar loses again. The central bank has created trillions of dollars out of thin air devaluing everybody else’s dollars in the process. In contrast, the supply of gold and silver has been relatively constant for the past millennium. Bitcoins also have a stable supply; meaning that at any given time, we know exactly how many exist and at what rate they will be produced in the future. Their production ceiling at the moment, for instance, is 21 million Bitcoins.
Divisibility:
Unlike the US dollar which can be easily divided down to the penny, gold and silver are more complex and time consuming; whereas Bitcoins can be easily divided down to 0.00000001 of a Bitcoin.
Portability:
While the US dollar is portable, gold and silver are far more difficult and uncomfortable to carry around all the time. Bitcoins, on the other hand, can be sent instantly, anywhere in the world using nothing but internet access regardless of the size of the transaction and at almost no cost.
“What about counterfeiting and fraud?” a risk averter might ask. It is difficult to counterfeit the dollar, gold or silver, but we all knew that. Bitcoins use mathematical cryptography and a public ledger called the “block chain” making it impossible to counterfeit.
An online currency like Bitcoin isn’t a shocker; it has been long coming ever since the dot-com boom. The concept might be hard to understand, but that’s why we create videos. Our videos make complex concepts such as Bitcoin easier to spread. Do you have a concept that you want to spread? Contact us today for free consultation.