{"id":117482,"date":"2016-03-18T20:00:37","date_gmt":"2016-03-18T18:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=117482"},"modified":"2016-03-18T17:37:08","modified_gmt":"2016-03-18T15:37:08","slug":"is-bitcoin-still-worth-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/finance\/117482\/is-bitcoin-still-worth-it\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Bitcoin still worth it?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Most people are bamboozled by Bitcoin<\/a>. It\u2019s shrouded in jargon and geek speak<\/a>. It borrows physical metaphors from all over the place adding to the confusion. It talks of \u201ccoins\u201d, but there are no physical coins.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ll hear about \u201cminers\u201d, although there is no physical digging or drilling. You\u2019ll also hear made-up words such as \u201cblockchain<\/a>\u201d. People shake their heads in confusion. The Bitcoin community itself doesn\u2019t even know for sure who invented Bitcoin \u2013I even met one of those who claims to be the big founder<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But there are definitions of Bitcoin that even a five-year-old could understand<\/a>. Bitcoin is an online form of money \u2013 each one is currently worth around \u00a3290. So, when you read \u201ccryptocurrency\u201d, think digital gold. Think virtual money.<\/p>\n

You can buy and sell bitcoins or exchange them for goods and services in the physical world, and a small but growing number of businesses you\u2019ve heard of<\/a> accept them. What takes place is a wholly digital trade \u2013 no physical coins or notes exchange hands. If you want to cash out into physical paper money, you\u2019ll probably have to pay a fee.<\/p>\n

From old to new<\/h3>\n

When you send a dollar elsewhere online it is usually a bank that verifies the transaction \u2013 and takes a fee for its trouble<\/a>. Your money is usually in the hands of age-old institutions, many of whom we now mistrust<\/a> due to decades of corruption and profiteering<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But bitcoins can be bought and sold without the need for those organisations. It does this by distributing what used to be our trust in one organisation across a system of many people. Trust is shared out.<\/p>\n

And here another metaphor borrowed from the physical world comes into play. We ensure that our digital transactions are true and secure by writing them onto a shared, public \u201cledger\u201d. It\u2019s a big, open, digital book of truth and openness.<\/p>\n