Achieving popularity late last year for its seemingly inflated value, Bitcoin has been lauded by some as the ultimate, universal currency. Since its inception in 2009, the fledgling digital currency has withstood its share of skeptics as retailers around the world have adopted it as a new form of payment by their customers. Despite its reputation for being known as an open source alternative to conventional money, some in business circles have questioned the viability of the digital currency which is unregulated and is increasingly used as a speculative asset by investors. Bitcoin enjoys a level of popularity that. To truly understand the concept of the Bitcoin platform, it must first be explained. The very concept of cryptocurrency relies heavily on its decentralized nature. Each Bitcoin is shared via peer-to-peer networks, with no central authority. The currency itself is essentially a fixed-value cryptographic object. These “items” are typically mined by enterprising users (Kroll, Davey, & Felton, 2014). The very nature of mining, under Bitcoin, is a process that involves adding transaction records to Bitcoin's public ledger, better known as a block chain. Each of these chains serves as proof that transactions have taken place. Each block in the chain must be verified by other connected nodes to be classified as a usable currency (Kroll et al., 2014). Economist Robert Murphy offered a more simplified analogy to Bitcoin mining that is easy to understand: “Imagine a community where money is based on integers ranging from 1, 2, 3… up to 21,000 ,000. At any given time, one person "owns" the number 8, while someone else "owns" the number 34,323, and so on... shoulders." Any transaction that occurs cannot be reversed unless the new owner authorizes it ( Onies, Daniele, & Olyinka, 2011).While Bitcoin has its fair share of critics and supporters, the currency remains a hotly contested issue in financial circles.As more and more retailers begin to embrace the idea of a decentralized currency, it skepticism intensifies. Bitcoin economics highlight both the pros and cons of using a digital currency in the modern era. What remains to be seen is whether the cryptocurrency will reach a broader level of acceptance in the coming months and years. Assuming it does, what will stop Bitcoin or any other digital currency from taking over conventional payment systems? Like physical money, digital currency also brings with it its own set of headaches. As the currency goes through growing pains, it will only be a matter of time.
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