bitcoin payments

Have you been sitting on the fence about Bitcoin? By now you have are probably accepting  bitcoin and crypto currencies as a reality, and maybe even thinking seriously about getting involved. So, if you need a final nudge in the right direction, here are 10 good reasons why it’s worth taking the time to get involved, not only with the legal tender, but the large and growing, passionate global Bitcoin community.

Bitcoins have gripped the imagination of the young and old alike. Nothing like bitcoin has ever existed throughout the annals of history. It can excite passions in its enthusiasts and cynics alike.

Why Use Bitcoin?

But why use bitcoins? Right? Are there benefits inherent to bitcoins that elude all other government issued currencies? Infact, why is bitcoin rising? Fret not! By the end of this article, we will cover most of the more significant reasons why you, I and literally everyone can benefit from using cryptocurrencies in general and bitcoins in particular.

 

It is an Alternative to Fiat Currency

Fiat currency is any money that is considered legal tender by a government. Since fiat currency is issued and controlled by a country, it is subject to the whims of a government. For example, a government can choose to devalue its currency in order to, let’s say, gain competitive advantage in foreign trade.

The devaluation might be good for the economy as a whole but it negatively affects people like you and I, as our savings are worth less than it was before the devaluation. Since bitcoin is not subject to government control, it cannot be devalued by a government decree.

 A Digital Currency for Digitized Society

Even though convention money is also digital to some extent, think of online banking and credit cards. The key difference is that online banking is a service provided by a profit making entity, which makes money off of our transactions.

Bitcoins, on the other hand, are an inherently digital form of currency that can be turned into physical money through paper wallets. But, it does not involve for-profit entities trying to make money off of every single thing we do with our monies.

 Avoiding Government Overreach

As I mentioned earlier, bitcoin is not another tool for the government to exercise its control. It is truly our money. Governments can’t freeze our bitcoin wallets as with bank accounts.

They can’t prevent us from moving money across national borders as in the case with capital controls.

Ideal For Online Shopping

We’ve grown accustomed to going online for most of our basic shopping. But for some reason the conventional system of money hasn’t changed a bit. If I want to buy something online, I have to provide the merchant with my credit card information. Seems a bit ridiculous doesn’t it? With bitcoins we can simply send money without giving away any personal information to a third party.

 

Cost, Fees and Commission

The cost of transacting with bitcoins is insignificant compared to other forms of online payment. The cost of moving bitcoin around is surprisingly cheap. Even if a payment processor such as BitPay is involved, it is still cheaper than any credit company or payment processor.

According to Bitcoin Coin Fees, every single transaction of bitcoin has an average cost of 0.001 bitcoins. This is known as miner fees, which is paid to the miners for authenticating the transaction. Aide from the miner fee, if a payment processor is involved there will also be a transaction fee, ranging around 1% of the total amount.

A Fantastic Investment

Bitcoin has been named as one of the best investments for a number of years. Since bitcoin has a limited supply, which is in a perpetual decline, and at the same time its demand continues to increase, its price tends to naturally appreciate.

Impregnable Security

Since bitcoin is a decentralized system of money, the system itself is virtually impossible to hack into. Each and every transaction is individually validated, verified and recorded into a permanent ledger that ensures absolute security for each and every transaction.

Payment Information Security

Most of you should have heard of the security breach at Equifax, a credit reporting agency. Imagine if a credit reporting agency cannot safeguard its consumers vital information, how can we expect merchants to safeguard our payment information such as credit card information.

And Equifax is just one of the countless such cyber breaches, where our payment information was stolen. Such theft of payment information is impossible with bitcoins as we don’t have to give out our payment information in order to pay for our purchases.

Bitcoin Use is Pseudo-Anonymous

Aside from the safety associated with bitcoin use, bitcoin offers a degree of anonymity that even banks can’t offer. The main reason is that, banks are mandated by law to collect information on its deposit holders and report to the government.

Using bitcoin, on the other hand, doesn’t even require proof of identification. Everyone has unique key addresses that are not associated with any kind of personal identifiers. Interestingly, despite each and every transaction being recorded on the blockchain, the blockchain does not aggregate all of its information, it merely records it.

It’s Lightening Fast

In terms of speed there are some nuances to be careful of. A bitcoin transaction can take from ten minutes to a few hours depending on a few factors. But the important thing is that we can send money across the globe within the same timeframe as local transactions unlike international transfers or bank checks which can take from three to five days to clear.

It isn’t Subject to the Erosive Effects of Inflation

Inflation has a tendency to creep up on us. It slowly eroding the value of our hard earned money. Basically, it slowly eats away at the real value of our money without touching the absolute amount of money, which is why inflation can be so deceptive and dangerous. Bitcoin, on the other hand, is deflationary in nature, meaning, it does not loses value, instead it gain value over the course of time.

Since bitcoin is not subject to government control, it cannot be devalued by a government decree.

Offers Safety in an Unstable Global Economy

Think back. Don’t go back too far. In just the past ten years, there have been so many financial and economic crises, it’s mind blowing. After the global crises of 2007-08, we saw the Euro Zone crisis, the Greek Debt crises, the Italian banking crises.

The global economy, despite slowly growing, is on a weak footing and since bitcoins are not correlated with a single economy, it is an excellent way to mitigate some of the risks of economic crisis. 

 Bitcoin’s Use is on the Rise

The rising popularity and usage of Bitcoins

Bitcoin’s use has been on a steady rise. The number of companies accepting bitcoins as a form of payment is increasing. The number of bitcoin users are also increasing. Its use as a way to send money across national borders is also on the rise. Bitcoin is gaining traction and there is no better time to invest in bitcoins. This also answers the question why is bitcoin rising.

There you have it. 14 simple reasons why we should all use bitcoins. Of course using bitcoins doesn’t mean swearing off conventional money. It just means that for the first time, we have an option in terms of choosing our currency. Use the currency we think will benefit us in a particular situation.