Bitcoin is the most successful implementation of the distributed consensus concept, which was previously only known as theory. Bitcoin has demonstrated that it can establish consensus without relying on central authorities or trust relationships.

Advantages of Bitcoin

Bitcoin’s Offering to Society

Bitcoin’s offering to society is an ability for anyone to be able to conduct peer-to-peer transactions with others without requiring any type of coordination by a third party. Bitcoin allows people who have no relationship with each other and do not know each other at all to agree upon a single data set that represents value. Bitcoin provides this service through an open network of voluntary participants who are incentivized by increasing their wealth, unlike traditional currencies where increasing the money supply diminishes its value for existing holders, Bitcoin incentivizes people to provide information storage services so they can get Bitcoin in return. You can check bitcoin-profit.org.

Bitcoin, through consensus among Bitcoin users, is able to provide this service with mathematically-proven security that can be audited by anyone. Bitcoin ensures that everyone has equal access to the Bitcoin network and Bitcoin’s design does not allow for any type of discrimination against specific groups of people or entities except through voluntary means. Bitcoin seeks to establish consensus without relying on trust relationships between participants in transactions nor delegation of trust onto third parties, instead, Bitcoin uses cryptographic algorithms which are verifiable by every participant in the Bitcoin network so they can reach a single data set representing value where each participant can only decide whether they believe the data set represents valid value or not.

Unprecedented Censorship Resistance

Bitcoin provides unprecedented censorship resistance – no one can prevent you from transacting with others who you wish to transact with, Bitcoin provides unprecedented privacy – Bitcoin’s design does not allow the Bitcoin network to reveal any information about parties involved in transactions other than their wallet IDs (which are randomly generated identifiers automatically assigned to each Bitcoin user), Bitcoin provides unprecedented reliability- Bitcoin’s protocol is reliably able to maintain consensus among all participants even if some of them are trying to undermine Bitcoin’s security model.

Bitcoin is resistant to government censorship and control. Bitcoin has no hardcoded inflation schedule so it cannot be subject to government manipulation. Bitcoin allows people who have no relationship with each other and do not know each other at all to agree upon a single data set that represents value without involving any third party whatsoever every time they conduct peer-to-peer transactions. Bitcoin ensures that everyone has equal access to Bitcoin’s features and Bitcoin’s design does not allow for discrimination against specific groups of people or entities except through voluntary means.

Bitcoin seeks consensus without relying on trust relationships between participants in transactions nor delegation of trust onto third parties, instead, Bitcoin uses cryptographic algorithms which are verifiable by every participant in the Bitcoin network so they can reach a single data set representing value where each participant can only decide whether they believe the data set represents valid value or not.

Types of Bitcoin Users

There are two types of Bitcoin users, those who accept Bitcoin for their business and those who use Bitcoin at the point of sale. Merchants are open to accepting Bitcoin because it doesn’t cost them anything to start accepting Bitcoin payments other than the time it takes to set up an account. On average, Bitcoin transactions are also much faster than credit card transactions which only take seconds instead of minutes or hours. There is no risk for merchants when accepting Bitcoin as well since they can always refund bitcoin if there is a problem with the transaction.

Bitcoin users using Bitcoin at the point-of-sale is not much different from using cash in store because bitcoin needs to be converted into something that people understand; dollars and cents that we see physically printed on things or digital numbers that we see in a bank account. Bitcoin needs to be presented in a similar way in order for Bitcoin users to use Bitcoin in e-commerce. Converting Bitcoin into cash appears to be the only obstacle Bitcoin faces in order to be used at the point of sale. Current Bitcoin ATMs do not have enough liquidity or accessibility which means it is difficult for Bitcoin owners to convert their Bitcoin into something they can spend properly and easily.

There are several ways Bitcoin could become more accessible, one way would be through an exchange that currently allows people to buy and sell bitcoins but does not transfer funds from one person’s bank account into another person’s wallet. The other method is using a service that allows people to swap bitcoin with gift cards.

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iLounge author Lucy Bennett

Lucy Bennett is a Contributing Editor at iLounge. She has been writing about Apple and technology for over six years. Prior to joining iLounge, Lucy worked as a writer for several online publications.