If you have ever wanted to rely less on paper money, there may be an answer for you: Bitcoin. This is a crypto currency that utilizes cryptography to make and transfer money. At its core, it is also a math-based currency. Bitcoin was developed by Satoshi Nakamoto in 2009. Since then, it has experienced a steady ascent in popularity and value. However, it has not been without its issues.
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Creating Bitcoins
Through the practice of mining, Bitcoins are generated when users verify and record payments, which come with transaction fees. Wallet software is then used to send and receive the currency, which can be installed on a PC or mobile device. For the most part, the U.S. is considered the most Bitcoin-friendly country. Nonetheless, speculators have fueled price volatility for the money; however, Bill Gates still sees a future for this and similar types of currency. Gates recently said, “Digital money has low transaction costs which is great for the poor because they need to do financial transactions with small amounts of money. Over the next five years, I think digital money will catch on in India and parts of Africa and help the poorest a lot.”
When it comes to transferring Bitcoins, not all trading platforms are created equal. With that in mind, Cedric Dahl and Bennett Hoffman came up with the Buttercoin concept. Their idea was to take part in the $500 billion per year remittances industry, but to add their own twist. The World Bank estimates that immigrants will send over $15 billion to their overseas relatives by 2015. Buttercoin was designed to remove some of the risks associated with Bitcoins, which can include theft and chargebacks. Retailers also have a catalyst for accepting the digital money as transaction fees are two to three percent lower than credit card fees.
Legal Woes
On Bitcoin exchanges such as Mt. Gox, the trading price of Bitcoin plunged from $900 to $618 as of this past Monday. This came as a direct result of Mt. Gox halting withdrawals due to technical glitches and suspected illegal activity. In 2013, the FBI closed the online black market, Silk Road, and then captured $28.5 million worth of Bitcoins. Recently, Russia’s top prosecutor labeled Bitcoin and any associated anonymous payment systems as illegal. Additionally, Apple removed its most popular Bitcoin app, Blockchain. Blockchain’s CEO responded by contending that Apple did this to get ahead of its competitors since it was developing its own payment system.
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Compliance
What makes Buttercoin a standout is the fact that it is free to use. Despite regulatory agencies looking for problems with the currency, it still continues to maintain and acquire legal users. One has to wonder if governments regard Bitcoin as completely unsafe, or if they just want a piece of the action. Some of Buttercoin’s investors include Google Ventures’ Kevin Rose and Chris Hutchins, Floodate, Initialized Capital and Rothenberg Ventures. In fact, Buttercoin was listed as TechCrunch’s “Top 8 Startups From Y Combinator’s Summer ’13 Demo Day.”
Why Buttercoin Works
First and foremost, Buttercoin does everything legally and aboveboard. Also, there are no large fees and clients can send Bitcoins 200,000 times faster than with any other platform. In every country Buttercoin services, it has agreements with licensed financial institutions. This helps to ease the burden of money transfers for families all over the globe.
Bitcoin has only been around for four years, going on five. What the future holds for the digital currency remains to be seen. However, with more and more businesses accepting the currency, and given the convenience Buttercoin provides, it makes sense to give it more attention. What are your thoughts on digital currency? Have you used any Bitcoins yet?
By
Lori Grobanite
I have family members in Sweden, I need to check out Buttercoin asap.