A new online payment system has taken over. Bitcoin is a new way to give and receive money that is all electronic, even the money.
According to www.bitcoin.org, “Bitcoin is a consensus network that enables a new payment system and a completely digital money.” The way this works is the process called “mining”. Bitcoin miners process transactions and secure the network in exchange for a reward. New bitcoins are created at a fixed rate so the miners are constantly competing for more money.
Bitcoin was first created in 1998 and has grown ever since. At the end of August 2013, the value of all Bitcoins reached as much as US $1.5 billion. Millions of dollars worth of Bitcoins are exchanged daily throughout the world.
Although this online currency seems like an amazing idea, it’s a lot more work than it’s worth. People use cash because it’s convenient and it’s accepted basically everywhere. These bitcoins are not widely used which makes it hard to find a place to actually accept it. Everyone knows that the economy is a constant roller coaster which also means the bitcoin value can drop double digits in a few hours tops.