BENEFITS AND DISADVANTAGES OF USING BITCOIN

Bitcoin and its mining are part of the growing role that technology plays in modern societies. In this context, the use of Bitcoin as a trading medium seems to be preferred because (Red, 2016a, Wikipedia, 2017):

BENEFITS AND DISADVANTAGES OF USING BITCOIN

BENEFITS AND DISADVANTAGES OF USING BITCOIN

Provides freedom of payment:

BENEFITS AND DISADVANTAGES OF USING BITCOIN

it is possible to send or receive any amount of money immediately, anywhere in the world, at any time. Bitc

BENEFITS AND DISADVANTAGES OF USING BITCOIN

BENEFITS AND DISADVANTAGES OF USING BITCOIN

It carries very low fees:

At present, payments with Bitcoin are made with either zero or extremely low fees. Users can include fees in their transactions to prioritize processing, which results in faster network validation of transactions. In addition, processors for merchants are there to assist them in processing payments, converting Bitcoin into credit money and depositing funds directly into the merchants’ bank account daily. As these services are based on Bitcoin, they can be offered at much lower fees than PayPal or credit / debit card networks.

There are fewer risks for traders:

transactions with Bitcoin are secure, irreversible and do not contain any personal information or sensitive customer data. This protects traders from damage caused by fraud or fraudulent billing. By doing so, merchants can easily expand into new markets where either credit cards are unavailable or fraudulent rates are unacceptably high. The net profit results in lower fees, higher purchases, and less administrative costs.

Security and control are provided:

Bitcoin users have complete control over their transactions. It is impossible for merchants to impose unwanted or unnoticed charges, as can be the case with other payment methods. Bitcoin payments can be made without linking personal information to the transaction. This offers strong protection against identity theft. Bitcoin users can also protect their money with backups
and encryption.

It is a world-wide currency:

Bitcoin makes it possible to move to any part of the world without having to use a credit card or cash. Also, there is no risk of theft.

It is a non-inflationary digital currency:

the precise number of Bitcoin creation does not allow for inflationary pressures on conventional currencies, and therefore the associated financial risks.

It has autonomy:

as mentioned above, it is not produced by any central bank so no one controls it beyond the owner.

It is not subject to taxation:

according to the latest ruling of the European Court of Justice it cannot be taxed as a currency or as an asset.

Provides transaction speed:

Bitcoin transactions are instantly completed and announced across the globe at the same time. This requires no infrastructure other than some form of freeware on a PC or Smartphone and internet connection.

There is user control:

as the user is the only one able to execute transactions and if he has not granted this right, and has reasonably protected access to his Bitcoin, it is virtually impossible to steal or steal from third parties.

Portability – Backups:

Irrespective of their multitude, Bitcoin and storage wallets or passwords are virtually too small in size, and can be easily ported, recorded on paper, and even stored. Also, something that is impossible for conventional values, the Bitcoin data available can be copied to back up in case the original is destroyed. Of course, if any of the copies are violated, the rest are also violated.

There is transparency of transactions and rules:

all transactions that have ever taken place on the network are publicly available and transparent. Thus, anyone can look at any address and look at the previous transactions that have been executed with it, the number of Bitcoin relocated, as well as the number that has been sent. This applies to all transactions that have ever been executed on the network until the first one. The same is true of all the rules according to which the software works and where the users agree. There is no hidden rule within the software, and it cannot exist as users would not accept it.

Consensual nature of use – change:

changing any feature of the software or its rules is only effective when accepted by the networking community. This avoids malicious changes that could fundamentally change the software, but also provides great flexibility and speed of response in case of errors or unexpected failures in operation.

Subdivisions:

each bitcoin can be subdivided into up to 8 decimal places (up to 0.00000001) called Satoshi, allowing for small transactions
which are not possible by other means or conventional currencies. Adding even more decimals is left to the consensus of the network if needed in the future.