Bitcoin Value Today – XBTPro
What is Bitcoin?
Bitcoin is a form of electronic cash or cryptocurrency that can be used in place of paper cash. It can be used for peer-to-peer transactions.
It was launched in the year 2009 by Satoshi Nakamoto, an anonymous person or a group of person. Bitcoin was the first use case of a new technology called the blockchain.
Blockchain is a decentralized network of nodes that can hold data in various computers or nodes.
The Bitcoin network is a digital ledger that contains a record of all BTC transactions made since 2009. Nobody owns or controls this huge network. Transaction in the ledger is approved by group consensus of the community.
As Bitcoin becomes more popular, more people will be added to the network. This will increase the size of the network and will make it virtually invulnerable to censorship or attack.
BTC is stored in Bitcoin wallets. These can be physical hardware or software applications. In each case, the wallets are secured cryptographically. The private key is used to send bitcoins from one wallet to another.
Use Cases
Digital Cash
There is a huge community of people using BTC instead of government-backed fiat currency. Many eCommerce platforms use BTC as well as cash as a form of payment. You can use BTC to invest in gold and silver.
Speculative Asset
The BTC market is subject to very high volatility. It is seen as the best trading option among day traders and swing traders. This volatility brings with it a huge risk and profits.
Store of Value
BTC’s store of value is usually questioned because of its high volatility. But it is also true that in the long term BTC has always proved to be profitable for investors. BTC was the best performing asset class as of 2019.
Bitcoin Price History
Bitcoin is known for its volatility. It has seen jumps of more than 10% within hours. Let us look at bitcoin price history.
2009
Bitcoin went public in the year 2009. An interesting twist in the history of the economy began.
2010
An early developer uses BTC to buy a pizza. This was the first time BTC was used for the peer-to-peer transaction. He spent 10,000 BTC on two pizzas. This was to demonstrate its use case.
2011–2012
Within a short span of time, BTC becomes more than a dollar. It hit a high of $31 per BTC before crashing to less than 10% of that value.
2013
Bitcoin hits $1000 per BTC. This led to widespread speculation. Soon after this, it crashed to $300. This huge price swing gained BTC massive popularity.
2014
Tech giant Microsoft starts accepting BTC.
2015–2016
Bitcoin again shows signs of reversal. It reaches $770 in June 2016. People start speculating about the next trend.
2017
Bitcoin becomes a trending topic in the mainstream media. Its demand increases which spike the price from under $1,000 to somewhere close to $20,000.
2018
Bitcoin crashes again. People start to speculate that the bubble has finally burst. Prices again tanked after January. It crashed more than 50% by April. By the end of the year, Bitcoin was as low as $3,200.
2019
Bitcoin has established itself as a widely accepted payment method. It is featured daily in the mainstream media like gold, silver, and stocks. The price recovers around mid-2019. Today bitcoin is valued at $9,835.
The Pros
No Counterfeiting: All BTC has a digital signature that is impossible to replicate. There are a limited number of BTC available for the market (21 million). The blockchain record can never be hacked or counterfeited.
No Third-Party Interruption: The massive popularity of the bitcoin is due to the fact that it does not need any third-party intervention. It does not need government regulation. It is capable of self-sustenance.
24/7 Operation Schedule: Bitcoin is running 24/7. Service on the network is not restricted by time zones, bank holidays, country or anything. You can use bitcoin 24/7.
Low Fees: The transaction fee of BTC transaction is much lower as compared to other fiat currencies. International money transfer is much cheaper in case of BTC than traditional methods.
Discrete: You don’t have to submit your personal information when signing up for a bitcoin wallet or while using the network. There is no record of bitcoin network being hacked till now. It is immutable to hacking.
Who controls the Bitcoin network?
The simple answer is nobody. Updates are made in the network by miners. Miners are responsible to accept or reject a new node into the network. Miners use huge computational power to solve mathematical puzzles, that can be used as “proof of work” to add new blocks into the network. For doing this, the miners are paid in BTC.
Is Bitcoin illegal?
No, bitcoin has not been made illegal in any country till date. Some countries have restricted its uses but no one said it “illegal”. Bitcoin is often used by criminals and money launderers because of its anonymous nature. This is the main reason why some countries don’t want to adopt bitcoin.
The Cons
High volatility: In the short term, BTC is very volatile. This is the most commonly cited disadvantage of BTC and also the reason for its buzz. There have been incidences when it jumped more than 200% within months. There are also incidences when it crashed more than 200% within weeks.
Low adoption: Though the popularity of the coin has skyrocketed. It is yet to be used as a mainstream payment method. Most merchants do not want to adopt BTC because of its volatility.
Low Buyer Protection: It is better to say “no buyer protection”. If your private key is stolen, there is no way to find out who stole it. You may be left dumb! Forget stealing, even if you forget your private key, you have no way to get it back. There have been instances where a family member died without informing his/her family of the private key. What happened to his BTC? Blocked.
Published at Mon, 17 Feb 2020 09:30:19 +0000
