Ever since the boom of bitcoin in 2017 people are racing to get a piece of this valuable virtual currency. Despite the short crash after the boom in 2018, there are still high expectations for this cryptocurrency to overpower most modern methods of transactions. Leading people to query how else they can get a slice and will they need cash?
1) Trading Cash
Despite the modern age we live in with fantastic technology. For whatever reason it is, we all will carry cash and most of the time, cash is better out of the traditional banks than in.
You could assume that seeing as you need to sign up for a bitcoin wallet to process transactions, it would be difficult to buy this electronic currency with physical cash.
Your assumption would be incorrect. Websites like AgoraDesk have created a platform where you can anonymously send cash through the mail or even use gift vouchers to purchase bitcoins. There is no personal information required to give cash to a seller. Although you will need to still set up a bitcoin wallet to receive the bitcoins, they will be transferred very quickly and easily. Not much work to do on your behalf.
2) Bitcoin Mining
As a measure to ensure the bitcoin network is safe and impenetrable, there is a software where bitcoin miners can solve mathematical problems in exchange for bitcoins. This strengthens the bitcoin network, distributes the bitcoins and provides an incentive for miners to mine.
Miners have discovered that the power on their computers which are testing all these possible solutions at a certain speed can be increased. This was done through upgrading processors and then graphics cards. More modernly you can purchase chips which when plugged into your computer will perform the bitcoin mining algorithms/code.
As more bitcoins get mined, the harder it gets to solve new solutions. It is possible that your computer doesn’t have enough power to solve a solution for months or even years. Therefore bitcoin miners came up with the idea to collectively put their efforts towards the same solution, they would all mine at one block basically. They would then proportionally share the rewards from mining the bitcoins with each other depending on who devoted the most time/power to the block. This meant they could get quicker returns on bitcoins.
3) Trading Modern Currencies
Of course, in this day and age there’s merely nothing money can’t buy. Unlike the central bank, bitcoin doesn’t operate in a way which somebody can dictate when money is printed this means, the only way for the currency to gain or lose value is for somebody to buy or sell their currency similar to a company on the stock market.
The most common method of buying bitcoins is through a bitcoin wallet. Think of this similar to opening a bank: whenever the bitcoin wallet owner wishes to process a transaction on the blockchain network, the bitcoin wallet will digitally sign (with a ‘seed) the transaction with mathematical proof that it existed. This then makes it impossible for somebody to alter that data. You could also find more information on a bitcoin loophole platform.
Bitcoin wallets are provided by cryptocurrency exchange companies and will accept traditional payment methods such as credit cards, debit cards. They will then (at an agreed exchange rate) exchange digital or flat money for the bitcoin currency.
