Bitcoin Vs Money: What Makes Digital Currency Valuable?

Societies all over the world have been moving from cash economies to digital money. This has happened mainly due to two different aspects.

The first one is related to the advancement of technology. For example, with smartphones being capable of doing and handle many complex tasks. In many cases, they are even more powerful than traditional computers. Additionally, users are able to pay for goods and services using apps and NFC technology. As a result, smartphones and digital solutions have played a very important role in expanding digital money.

The second aspect that is worth mentioning is that with digital payments, governments are also able to increase their tax revenues. They can collect taxes more easily if people use digital solutions rather than cash. Thus, governments have been pushing for increased usage of digital solutions to pay for goods and services.

The technological expansion has also brought Bitcoin (BTC) and cryptocurrencies. However, the main difference we find between Bitcoin vs Money is related to the way in which it is controlled. This is something we will go through in the next sections.

Is Bitcoin the Same as Money?

Bitcoin is not the same as traditional money. However, we can consider it a different kind of digital money. For an asset to be considered money, it needs to work as a medium of exchange and also as a store of value. Bitcoin can easily be used as a medium of exchange in an online environment.

Companies and firms are already accepting BTC and other cryptocurrencies as a means of payment for the services and goods they are selling. Meanwhile, other investors and users are already placing their funds in Bitcoin because they consider it can work as a store of value.

According to the recognized investor Bill Miller, Bitcoin is an insurance policy against inflation. On the matter, he stated:

“It’s an insurance policy in case inflation comes back again as it did in the 1970s. I would say that if that’s a sensible thing to do, then, certainly to have 1 to 2% of your assets in Bitcoin makes great sense here.”

How Does Bitcoin Differ From Traditional Money?

Bitcoin is money in its own way but it is very different from centrally controlled fiat money. Fiat money makes reference to all the currencies we have around the world, from the euro (EUR) and the U.S. dollar (USD) to the Brazilian real (BRL) and the Czech Koruna (CZK). All of them are centralized and controlled by politicians and governments.

Bitcoin vs Money: The differences

First of all, there is the blockchain technology that makes this kind of money 100% a digital currency only existing in cyberspace(blockchain network). In contrary to real cash which people can hold and feel, Bitcoin will never leave the internet and stay on the blockchain forever.

Furthermore, Bitcoin is totally decentralized and there is nobody that can change that. There is no central authority controlling the number of BTC released to the market or which is going to be the future of the digital asset.

Cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, cannot be controlled by organizations or other authorities around the world. The network of holders, buyers, and sellers are those that have a real effect on the price of the digital asset. Furthermore, miners and nodes are going to play an important role in protecting the network and making it more secure over time.

What is Cryptocurrency?

Cryptocurrencies are digital assets that were issued mostly on top of blockchain technology and that use cryptography in order to operate. These cryptocurrencies solve one of the main issues of digital money, the double-spending problem.

Cryptocurrencies exist only on a decentralized network of miners and nodes. On these networks, users are making transactions between each other without depending on a centralized authority.

Bitcoin and other coins have also a limited supply, making them much more valuable due to being digitally scarce. At the moment, as reported by CoinMarketCap, there are over 5,000 virtual currencies in the world that have different purposes and can be used for different things.

What is the Point About Cryptocurrency?

When cryptocurrencies where created, the goal was to take away the power from governments and financial institutions. Bitcoin was announced in 2009 when the world was experiencing one of the largest crisis in history.

The dichotomy Bitcoin vs Money can be understood as a way to support individuals or traditional financial institutions. By using this digital currency, users are the real owners of their funds. This does not happen with the money that is stored in bank accounts that can be frozen without any previous warning.

Individuals and investors in cryptocurrencies realize that Bitcoin and other digital assets could make a difference in terms of financial freedom. This is something that fiat currencies cannot certainly provide to users.

For instance, there are countries with massively high inflation rates due to fiscal irresponsibility. Other countries have had massive confiscations of citizens’ money. This does not happen with Bitcoin, which became a tool to take away power from governments and also from financial organizations.

How Does a Cryptocurrency Get Its Value?

Cryptocurrencies get their value due to the services they are currently offering to users. As they can be used to protect individuals against inflation and also to buy and pay for things, the demand for these virtual currencies grow.

The demand for cryptocurrencies is high. There are many reasons why users want to buy Bitcoin and other digital assets. However, the most important is related to the fact that they are censorship-resistant.

While governments control the fiat currency they issue, individuals are the real owners of the digital assets they acquired in the market. Thus, this is going to increase the value of these cryptocurrencies over time.

When the demand for virtual currencies decreases, then we have price corrections that can be very useful to attract new investors and buyers at lower prices. This is also one of the reasons why cryptocurrencies are used to speculate.

Why Should I Pay With Bitcoin?

Paying with Bitcoin is going to give you the possibility to decide what to do with your own money. While using credit cards and other traditional methods you may have your transaction rejected for no reason, with Bitcoin this would never happen.

Once the transaction is processed by the network, there is no way it will be returned or rejected. It simply goes and it is received by the other person. Also paying with Bitcoin is a transaction that can’t be undone by your government or bank. In this case, you choose to use a valuable asset rather than the printed papers created by centralized governments.

If you are thinking about whether to use bitcoin or money to pay for things, then the best thing you can do is just to move to Bitcoin and use it as a means of payment for the things you need. This is also a good way to expand the use cases of the virtual currency, which can also have a positive impact on the price.

How do I Convert Bitcoin to Cash?

It is possible to convert Bitcoin to cash in different ways. You can simply use a crypto exchange that can be accessed online and link it to your bank account. In just a few minutes you can simply fund the account or sell your virtual currencies to get cash.

Another simple way to convert Bitcoin to cash is by using Bitcoin ATMs. These ATMs are located in most of the largest cities around the world and can be used to buy or sell Bitcoin. While not all the terminals offer users the possibility to sell their cryptocurrencies, some of them will definitely allow you to do so.

Finally, you can convert Bitcoin to cash by selling it to another person. You can contact a person that wants to buy Bitcoin and you can sell it to him. There are some popular platforms online that connect individuals that want to acquire and sell Bitcoin.

Does Amazon Accept Bitcoin?

At the moment Amazon does not accept Bitcoin for payments processed on its platform. One of the ways you have to pay using Bitcoin in Amazon is by acquiring Amazon gift cards and pay with Bitcoin.

One of the platforms that allow users to acquire Amazon gift cards and pay with Bitcoin is Bitrefill. This is a good way for you to start acquiring goods on Amazon paying in Bitcoin or money.

In the future, however, if Bitcoin becomes an internationally accepted cryptocurrency, it may be possible for Amazon to accept Bitcoin payments for the purchases made on the platform.

Why Do Hackers Use Bitcoins?

Bitcoin has been associated with hackers and criminals. However, this is a common mistake that people do. Bitcoin is used by criminals as money can be used to launder money or finance criminal activities.

Exchanges all over the world have been many times attacked by hackers. Users lost large sums of money due to a lack of security measures from exchanges in the cryptocurrency market. Due to these attacks, governments and regulatory agencies increased their pressure on cryptocurrency exchanges. All this to improve their services and the security they are offering to users.

Hackers do also want Bitcoins because each BTC is very valuable, and this is something hackers know. Once they get the BTC, they can exchange them for cash and fiat currencies. Nevertheless, an increasing number of regulations is making the crypto market a much more secure place for users.

Conclusion

Finally, we have to conclude that Bitcoin can be used under several circumstances if you compare it to traditional money. Also, since the beginning of this century more and more transactions are being done online. As a result of this, money has moved to cyberspace.

Will money online become Bitcoin? That is a legit question to ask and we just have to wait and see. In this article, we tried to make clear what Bitcoin vs money means and what could be the consequences of this. Read this article about how to start a Bitcoin investment, if you got curious about Bitcoin.