A virtual currency allows you to exchange money online . Among the over two thousand cryptocurrencies in the world, Bitcoin is certainly the best known. Everyone is talking about it and everyone wants to find out how it works.
But what differentiates a virtual currency from physical money
A cryptocurrency is made up of numbers, more precisely codes, and does not need any banking institution to be able to circulate.
Bitcoin was born in 2008 and its invention is due to Satoshi Nakamoto(pseudonym used by the creator). Since there is no bank behind it, Bitcoins are managed thanks to an advanced technology that uses a digitized system to control them. Bitcoins, as well as other cryptocurrencies, are stored in huge databases that are installed on different computers, connected to each other thanks to the internet.
Security is guaranteed by innovative cryptographic technologies that allow the creation of new money, the tracking and implementation of transactions and the sending of bitcoins to their owners.
Your virtual wallet is called a wallet . It can be found on your PC, on special US keys or on a web platform.
In any case, a specific address is created, comparable to a banking Iban code, which contains a private and a public key , which identifies your account. The public key is used to receive bitcoins while the private key allows you to control your transactions . Bitcoin, as well as other cryptocurrencies, can be purchased on Kriptomat Italia.
Bitcoin uses a technology called peer to peer which prevents the devaluation of the virtual currency when new money is placed on the market. The advantages of using bitcoin
Anonymity is certainly one of the main advantageswhich attracts those who decide to use Bitcoins. It is the advanced 2048-bit RSA encryption system that makes this high level of security possible.
Second strength is the non-taxation of purchases made in virtual currency, because cryptocurrencies are not calculated as taxable income .
Furthermore, another not insignificant aspect is the non-exposure to fraud risks that credit card holders often incur, especially in online purchases.
Bitcoin fits perfectly into a current context in which governments around the world are trying to get people used to abandoning the use of physical money faster and faster. This means the possibility of very fast exchange of money and facilitates transactions, other strengths of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
Bitcoins, however, are not without risks . Like all virtual currencies, they can undergo fluctuations in valuewhich must make you think before deciding to invest large sums of money. This attention must also be paid to the amount of Bitcoins that are stored in your wallet. It must be taken into account that, even if a large sum in the wallet can mean a greater return on investment, the risks of losses and devaluations exist. What can be bought with Bitcoins
With Bitcoins it is possible to buy both goods and services. Of course, this possibility is linked to the acceptance of this type of payment by the sellers. In recent years, fortunately, commercial activities that accept to receive payments and money in the form of Bitcoin are growing more and more all over the world, including Italy .
Anotheruse of Bitcoins and linked to the transfer of money internationally which, with traditional methods, has a very high taxation. Banks are adopting strategies that aim to significantly lower the costs of transferring money through bitcoin which, in this way, could become one of the least expensive methods to carry out this type of transaction.
While waiting for more and more commercial activities to open up to payment via Bitcoin, at the present time it is possible to use this virtual currency for purchases in sectors such as electronics, food and when booking travel and hotel stays.
Italy is also running in this direction. There are more than a hundred at the momentactivities that allow you to pay via Bitcoin .
In addition, there are also several apps, such as Coinmap and QuiBitcoin , which allow you to identify the areas covered by this service.
The online world is certainly more open to payment via bitcoin. In fact, there are numerous marketplaces and e-commerce that allow you to make purchases by closing the transaction by paying with bitcoins.
This not only applies to physical goods and products, but also to the purchase of services. For example, many companies and digital platforms allow you to buy games, movies, applications, music by paying with Bitcoin.
This openness is benefited, above all, by the non-taxation mentioned above.
Finally, a final mention concerns the possibility of being able to support numerous associations and non-profit organizations engaged in social and environmental protection, through donations in Bitcoin (among these, are the UN, Unicef, Greenpeace and Save The Children). An ethical and valuable way to use your virtual currency. What you can’t do with Bitcoin
With bitcoin you can’t pay for everything. In everyday life, small actions like buying a coffee are still not feasible by paying in bitcoins. This is just a simple example, but it makes it clear that to carry out a transaction on the Bitcoin blockchainit takes about 10 minutes. Times that do not allow to use this cryptocurrency as a payment method for everything. In addition, the payment transaction is sometimes very expensive.