Why didn’t I buy some?
If you’re unsure what ‘Cryptocurrencies’ such as Bitcoin, Ethereum and Zcash are (I didn’t either), put simply, they are forms electronic currency that have no physical form and exist solely online. One of its advantages is that users can use the currency to purchase merchandise anonymously with no middleman and lower or often no fees as opposed to using real currencies with a centralised bank.
Websites such as 99Bitcoins and CoinDesk can provide a list of businesses that accept cryptocurrencies.
Bitcoin was created by an unknown person or group of people under the name Satoshi Nakamoto and released as open-source software in 2009 as remuneration for mining and to circumvent banks. Just under a decade has passed since its creation and it has recently become the 6th most valuable currency in the world.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin was valued at 1 bitcoin = $12,708.84 USD or £9507.61 GBP. The current value of all Bitcoins is estimated to be 180 billion USD. If you were a savvy investor back in 2011 and bought £100 worth of Bitcoins, your investment would be worth around the 4 million pounds mark.
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If you bought into Bitcoin and still have some squirrelled away in a dark corner of your digital wallet, now might be the time to part with them for a great payday.
If you aren’t sure how to offload those coins there are a number of websites that trade them such as Bitstamp and Bitfinex. Or hold onto them and see if it’s price gets even higher in the coming days which is entirely possible. As I go to post this article the price has hit $13,000 a coin.
Want some more Bitcoin blurb? Have a read of this….
