Bitcoin has become such a huge buzzword on the internet now a days. The digital coin that started off as an idea to replace paper currencies was never really expected to take on such a large role in the shift of the way we think about our current currency systems.
Bitcoin started off 3 years ago and was simply worth hundredths of one cent compared to the USD. But as more and more people started to see the value of not what bitcoin was worth, but what it meant as a new currency to the world, it’s actual dollar value ballooned to over $1200 in record time. It even surpassed gold for a little while! But when it grabbed the worlds attention, it also grabbed the attention of the major financial institutions and the world governments as they reacted in fear that their golden goose, their printed dollar may be ousted by a peer to peer trading network of digital coins!
There were positives and negatives regarding Bitcoin flying all over the news. The headlines were non stop as this new currency made it’s way to the forefront of almost everyones attention.
Some disregarded it immediately as a way for criminals to conduct online business without using actual money. A sort of money laundering aid. Silk Road didn’t help those rumors at all as it became an online hub for illegal selling of illegal substance.
But then there were those who saw the benefits of what Bitcoin could possibly do. A public ledger of transactions meant we could buy and sell houses, cars, business etc without lawyers or their hefty fees. We could send money across the globe without getting nailed the exchange fees. We could transfer money easily and swiftly and avoid banking fees, without borders. People were catching on!
Then came the computer savvy thieves who were successfully able to steal over $600,000 worth of bitcoins from Mt Gox, the worlds 2nd largest bitcoin exchange, and the value plumetted from it’s $1200 high to half of that just as fast as it had risen.
The public interest in bitcoin turned to how to make money with bitcoin as it’s value started to fluctuate so greatly and opportunity strikes at times like these!
No one really knows what’s going to happen with Bitcoin, but we all know that it’s one of the most exciting new things to happen in the technology world. A digital currency!