As this popular digital currency is taking more and more space in the financial world, everybody is interested in getting more information about the reasons for such a success to get the answer to questions such as: "Why should I use Bitcoin?" and "Should I invest in Bitcoin as well?" The practical side and efficiency of Bitcoin (BTC) cannot be denied anymore, especially since it has reached the $2,000 mark in early 2017, meaning that just one Bitcoin was $2,000 worth. Until the autumn of 2017, the price went sky-high, reaching the $7,000 mark, multiplying by more than 3 in just seven months. After its official release in 2010, the price of BTC was only $0.08. It means that its value raised almost 7000x in seven years. The current value of BTC is $16532 (at the time of writing). The up-to-date info about cryptocurrency prices and a market can always be found on Bitcoincharts .
Since the official release of this cryptocurrency, there were numerous efforts to create a brand new and competitive cryptocurrency, but without much success. Only a few of them took a significant spot in the crypto market, such as Ripple and Ethereum, the currencies that proved to be competitive in the market so far.
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Of course, there were also some significant downfalls in the history of Bitcoin, such as the Mt. Gox's unexpected bankruptcy which resulted in $480 million loss overall. However, every time some threats appeared, this Bitcoin got back quite fast. Anyone interested in getting involved in Bitcoin industry should learn more about its characteristics and the advantages it offers on the modern-day market. Some of the most important things to know about BTC is how it stands compared to fiat currencies, how it secured such a massive and constant growth, and how it always climbs back after serious downfalls.
Comparison to fiat currencies
The good thing about Bitcoin is that it can be used to purchase products and services electronically, meaning it works just as traditional currencies such as USD, EUR, and JPY. However, the biggest advantage and the most important characteristic of this currency, which makes it different from fiat currencies, is that Bitcoin is decentralized. No central financial institution in the world controls the Bitcoin network. The number of new BTC holders increases every day, and the main reason is that there are no banks controlling people's money. In 2017, the reports showed that there are more than 16 million Bitcoins in circulation worldwide, which is worth almost 120 billion USD.
Constant growth of Bitcoin
The biggest and most popular cryptocurrency that uses the Blockchain technology, Bitcoin, has a huge share of the modern-day market. The trading volume of BTC is much bigger than any other competing currency. The value of Bitcoin is many times larger than the second digital currency in the market, which is Ethereum (ETC). The thing that boosted up the rise of BTC is the global adoption in last two years, making it a real-world asset. This currency is officially allowed in countries such as Canada, United States, Japan, Sweden, Germany and much more.
The fall and recovery of Bitcoin
On May 25, 2017, Bitcoin reached a record price of $2700. Soon after that event, it suffered a sharp correction, losing 30% of its value in 2 days, which was shown in the charts on CoinMarketCap. A huge number of cryptocurrencies, such as Ethereum, Ripple, and Dash, declined at that time too. On May 27, Bitcoin holders had a chance to see the price going from $2,500 to $2,700 in one day, and then suddenly dropping to $1,900 in a few following days. Even though the situation on the market wasn't good, many experts predicted the quick recovery after that $800 fall. The results showed that they were right, as Bitcoin recovered pretty fast, reaching the stability.
Many believe that this recovery was mainly caused by the increase in the BTC demand from exchange markets. Japan and South Korea have maintained their rates during this bad BTC rally, and the trading volume of the Chinese market has largely increased at that time. So, in just seven days, the price of BTC went from $1,700 to $2,700. This event only proved that after a massive market correction, the price of Bitcoin always tends to stabilize at a higher point.
Online Shopping With Cryptocurrencies
Due to huge popularity, growth, and efficiency of cryptocurrencies in the modern market, a large number of shops appeared offering their products and services in exchange for this cryptocurrency. So, Bitcoin has been finally approved as the payment method worldwide. There are also many mainstream corporations that accept cryptocurrencies as a legal way to pay as well. The big advantage of this payment method is the speed of transaction, whether you're sending or receiving the cryptocurrency. Most of the new cryptocurrency users ask a question: "Which online shops accept Bitcoin as a payment method for their services?" In the list below, there are only several examples of the most popular places and companies that accept BTC:
The good thing about Bitcoin is that it can be used to purchase products and services electronically, meaning it works just as traditional currencies such as USD, EUR, and JPY.Microsoft
Microsoft always supported the development of digital currencies and Blockchain technology. So in 2016, the company publicly confirmed that Bitcoin became a regular part of the payment system on their official website. People can purchase various items on X-Box and Windows shop in exchange for Bitcoin.
Wordpress.com
All those who want to create blogs and websites for free tend to use the well-knowns Wordpress platform. This company enabled its users to work on Wordpress by using Bitcoin. As there are some countries where credit cards and PayPal aren't accepted, Wordpress made a smart move by creating a platform where Bitcoin payments are supported.
Overstock.com
Overstock is known for being the first retailer to accept Bitcoin payments, which began in early 2014. The company soon started a collaboration with the famous BTC exchange, Coinbase. It resulted in enabling their customers to buy computers, laptops, and home equipment with Bitcoin. The official website has the simple "pay with bitcoin" option for each item offered to customers.
Shopify
Shopify is an e-commerce platform that allows people to create their online shops. Since the company accepted Bitcoin in 2013, more than 70,000 Shopify traders were able to recognize Bitcoin payments with the help of BitPay.
Should you invest in Bitcoin?
It can be very profitable to invest in cryptocurrency that went up from $0.08 in 2010 to $7000 in 2017. This powerful currency can change the world of finances as we know today, and it is already enough to say again that Bitcoin surpassed the value of gold in 2017.
