Bitcoin is a relatively young currency but economists are already predicting that the next few years will see a huge increase in the amount of bitcoins used globally. Some businesses are already jumping on the bandwagon and now deal solely in this currency. Will bitcoin take over and become the world currency?
Bitcoin is purely an e-currency, a form of paying for things online that has many advantages over the traditional methods of payment. It enables websites to operate on a global scale, without having to worry about working out prices based on varying exchange rates. In addition to this, there are lower fees when using bitcoins, and the savings made from sites not paying these fees can be passed on to the customer. Some online casinos have embraced bitcoin as a way to compete against their rivals.
Because the online casino business is so huge, sites need to try and draw customers in by offering better bonuses. With the savings from low fees, they are able to do this. It also allows bookmakers who use a bitcoin sportsbook to put up the best possible odds for sports matches.
At the moment bitcoin is designed to have a finite number of bitcoins available. This means that its value can only increase, and goods and services would gradually lower in price if bitcoin became the sole currency used in the world. This seems flawed, as deflation could become a problem. But according to Joshua Kroll, a computer science researcher at Princeton University who has closely studied bitcoin, because bitcoin is essentially a computer program, it can be upgraded. This means that if it does encounter problems or cause a great depression or something catastrophic, it can be changed. Because bitcoin can adapt and evolve, when it becomes more commonly used its creators can make adjustments to it to enable it to continue to thrive.
People may be sceptical about trusting bitcoin at first and, with it being so young, not many people know much about it yet. But people were sceptical about email at first. Look at how that turned out.
When emails first became popular, they were designed as a new method of communication to rival traditional letters that arrive by post. The success of email has shown that new technology can create something to rival methods that have been in operation for years. Email was a massive hit and the modern world would be at a standstill without it. That doesn’t mean to say that the post has become superfluous, it is still used to an extent. But it has become secondary to email. Could the current currencies of the world end up in a similar state?
As technology becomes more and more advanced, it seems natural that the world will start dealing in a currency that is based online. But whether bitcoin will become the global currency remains to be seen.
Garon Cockrell is the Founder and Editor of Pop Culture Beast and host of The Pop Culture Beast Show. He founded the site over seven years ago to have a place on the internet to write about the things he loved. Since then, Garon has become a best-selling author (Demonic and Other Tales), an award winning screenwriter (Best Screenplay 2013 Motor City Nightmares Film Festival), and a cast member on the top rated podcast, Never Not Funny.