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Bitcoins are not just a marketing gimmick anymore. More than 80,000 businesses are already on the bandwagon; so why not yours?

There are innumerable benefits of using bitcoins as a part of the payment system. One of the primary advantages that it has over traditional banks is the fact that it allows international payments to go through without the worry of currency conversions.

Benefits of Bitcoins

Along with that, there are several more. Let's take a quick peek at a few of those without any further ado.

Lower Fraud Risks for Buyers

Bitcoins make it possible for buyers to complete their payments without divulging any sensitive financial information (like credit or debit card details) to the seller.

Thus, they enjoy a certain degree of financial anonymity that most credit cards fail to offer.

Bitcoins act more like a digital cash that hackers cannot intercept in any possible manner. At the same time, your identity is also concealed for good. This helps a lot in preventing targeted data breaches like the UPS Store breach.

No Risk of Inflation; Individuals Can Preserve Coins

With bitcoins, there's basically zero risks of inflation.

Inflation usually occurs when the Government issues more money over the year, decreasing the purchasing power of the people, on the whole.

But the bitcoin system was created with the sole purpose of being finite (and that number is speculated to be around 21 million). Thus, without the possibilities of issuing excess currency, the threat of inflation comes down to almost zero. This point benefits both the seller and the buyer, in general.

Reduced Transaction Fees

Transaction fees for bitcoin payments are significantly lower in comparison to the ones made for credit and debit card purchases.

This feature alone should make it a favorite go-to destination for small business ventures.

Easy to Use in Any Situation

As far as international transportation of bitcoins is concerned, the job is as easy as a piece of cake. All you will need is a simple memory stick* and you are sorted enough for the job.

You can even use the same currency in a different country without going through the pains of contacting the local bank for any purpose of currency conversions. If this doesn't count as a benefit, what does?
*Note: You use the memory stick for transporting bitcoins in it in the same way you do audio, video, executable programs, and other related data.
No Involvement of Any Third Party

The entire process of bitcoin transactions is peer to peer.

There's no involvement of a third party. No one can freeze, tax, or claim your coins. They cannot be stolen and cannot be seized by the government in no possible circumstances.

Quick Payments

Credit card funds can be locked up for as long as a week (or even more) in case a customer asks for a chargeback. Thus, payment delays occur for apparently no reason whatsoever.

This is generally not the case with bitcoins. They are usually much quicker** in comparison to conventional credit card settlements.
**Note: Bitcoin settlements typically occur within 2 business days.
A Safer Ecosystem

Each bitcoin wallet transaction is signed by an authentic digital signature before it is sent to a blockchain.

This complete process makes the app a safe place for storing and exchanging cryptocurrencies.

International Payments Made Easy for Small Business Ventures

Small online sellers and retailers don't often sell their services or products internationally because of the high cross-border transaction fees.

Bitcoins, being global, relives this pressure once and for all, thereby making payments cheaper, safer, easier, and faster.

Opportunities Bitcoin Opens in Several Business Verticals

Smart Contracts

The idea of smart contracts was conceived by the researcher, Nick Szabo in the nineties (1990s).

The primary idea was to implement a self-executing and programmable agreement without the intervention of any third party.

Although, the actual implementation of this concept hasn't been truly realized yet, but the emergence of bitcoins is slowly and steadily giving momentum to this type of contact between parties.

Asset Distribution

The strong value of the bitcoins' network gives total credence to the value of a bitcoin as a new form of an asset class.

Meaning, people today, are seeing them as a form of an asset that can be used to back the value of anything with worth.

Bitcoin asset distribution can help companies raise money in a much more secure environment without relying a lot on professional bankers charging massive fees.

Bitcoin Mining

This is the process in which computers confirm the fact that a transaction has actually happened on the network.

Bitcoin mining has all the potentials of turning into a big business, in itself.

Wallet Building Technology

With the emergence of bitcoins, comes the virtual wallet technology allowing users to store, pay, and receive their cryptocurrencies from anywhere on the planet.

Although this technology has already been in use since the first software client for cryptocurrencies were created, it does not signify that this sector has progressed with zero innovation.

More and more advanced wallet technologies are being built now to secure the entire bitcoin ecosystem. This has actually given rise to several business opportunities where companies are focusing more on the wallet-building part of the job making a good amount of money out of the same.

For example, BitGo is a company focused purely on the creation of wallet technologies. Without bitcoins, this would naturally not have been possible.

A Final Word &mldr;

Being an emerging technology, we can say that bitcoins have the complete potential of changing and improving commerce as we know it. They have advantages that benefit both the buyers and the sellers, in general.

Thus, we can rightly conclude that early adoption of this technology for a minimal cost is an excellent move for businesses and buyers alike.

So what are you still waiting for? Get on the bandwagon now! After all, a step today can save you a lot of hassle for tomorrow.

Photo via Shutterstock

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8 Incredible Benefits of Bitcoins and 4 Opportunities - Small Business Trends

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Bitcoins are not just a marketing gimmick anymore. More than 80,000 businesses are already on the bandwagon; so why not yours? There are innumerable benefits of using bitcoins as a part of the payment system. One of the primary advantages that it has over traditional banks is the fact that it allows international payments to go through without the worry of currency conversions.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBC-nXj3Ng4

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ar8V4jfyCGU

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What Is Cryptocurrency? A Guide For Beginners - NerdWallet

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Cryptocurrency is a class of digital assets, including Bitcoin and Ethereum, that runs without the need for a central authority.

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https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/09/what-experts-say-about-cryptocurrency-bitcoin-concerns.html

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When the richest person in the world gives his support to a virtual currency you know it's big business.

Elon Musk has told users of an online social media app that he thinks the virtual currency, Bitcoin, is a "good thing."

His comments resulted in the value of Bitcoin rising significantly.

So much so, that a singular Bitcoin went from being worth £3,600 in March last year to more than £27,000 now.

As talk of the currency has gone global, the Bank of Singapore has suggested that the 12-year-old currency could replace gold as its store of value.

However, in October, the head of the Bank of England, Andrew Bailey, warned about the unpredictability of Bitcoin, saying it makes him, "very nervous".

With all this talk you're probably wondering - what is Bitcoin and how does it all work?

Here's everything you need to know.

Bitcoin, often described as a cryptocurrency, a virtual currency or a digital currency - is a type of money that is completely virtual.

It's like an online version of cash. You can use it to buy products and services, but not many shops accept Bitcoin yet and some countries have banned it altogether.

However, some companies are beginning to buy into its growing influence.

In October last year, for example, the online payment service, PayPal, announced that it would be allowing its customers to buy and sell Bitcoin.

The physical Bitcoins you see in photos are a novelty. They would be worthless without the private codes printed inside them.

How does Bitcoin work?

Getty Images

Each Bitcoin is basically a computer file which is stored in a 'digital wallet' app on a smartphone or computer.

People can send Bitcoins (or part of one) to your digital wallet, and you can send Bitcoins to other people.

Every single transaction is recorded in a public list called the blockchain.

This makes it possible to trace the history of Bitcoins to stop people from spending coins they do not own, making copies or undo-ing transactions.

How do people get Bitcoins?

Denes Farkas

There are three main ways people get Bitcoins.

How are new Bitcoins created?

In order for the Bitcoin system to work, people can make their computer process transactions for everybody.

The computers are made to work out incredibly difficult sums. Occasionally they are rewarded with a Bitcoin for the owner to keep.

People set up powerful computers just to try and get Bitcoins. This is called mining.

But the sums are becoming more and more difficult to stop too many Bitcoins being generated.

If you started mining now it could be years before you got a single Bitcoin.

You could end up spending more money on electricity for your computer than the Bitcoin would be worth.

Why are Bitcoins valuable?

There are lots of things other than money which we consider valuable like gold and diamonds. The Aztecs used cocoa beans as money!

Bitcoins are valuable because people are willing to exchange them for real goods and services, and even cash.

Why do people want Bitcoins?

Some people like the fact that Bitcoin is not controlled by the government or banks.

People can also spend their Bitcoins fairly anonymously. Although all transactions are recorded, nobody would know which 'account number' was yours unless you told them.

In an online chat with social media users in January 2021, the world's richest man, Elon Musk, said he was a big supporter of Bitcoin.

He even went as far as to change his Twitter bio to "#bitcoin".

He has repeatedly shown his support to online currencies in recent years and caused major movements in their values due to his own personal wealth and influence.

This particular endorsement led to the value of Bitcoin to rise significantly.

Getty Images

Every transaction is recorded publicly so it's very difficult to copy Bitcoins, make fake ones or spend ones you don't own.

It is possible to lose your Bitcoin wallet or delete your Bitcoins and lose them forever. There have also been thefts from websites that let you store your Bitcoins remotely.

The value of Bitcoins has gone up and down over the years since it was created in 2009 and some people don't think it's safe to turn your 'real' money into Bitcoins.

This concern was expressed by the head of The Bank of England, Andrew Bailey, in October 2020.

He said that he was "very nervous" about people using Bitcoin for payments pointing out that investors should realise its price is extremely volatile.

By this, he meant that the value could drop significantly at any moment and investors could lose a lot of money.

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Guide: What is Bitcoin and how does it work? - CBBC Newsround

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When the richest person in the world gives his support to a virtual currency you know it's big business. Elon Musk has told users of an online social media app that he thinks the virtual currency, Bitcoin, is a "good thing." His comments resulted in the value of Bitcoin rising significantly.