Digital Dollars: Bitcoin and the rise of Cryptocurrency

Would you like to use this image? Click Here.

By now, most people are familiar with “Bitcoin” the online currencies that has spawned controversy throughout many countries as they try to pin down how to tax and regulate its use. Originally there were worries that bitcoin and other “cryptocurrencies” would supplant real world money, but these have turned out to be largely untrue, even though more real world retailers than ever are accepting bitcoin as a form of payment.

Bitcoin is “mined” through networks of users, and as each block of bitcoin is unlocked, the units become available to the miners. This maintains the system and value of the currency, allowing for a slow release rather than a flooding of the market. Essentially the encryption of bitcoin, and the time it takes to unlock it is a self-sustaining system, and rather than the typical national currency, like the Canadian Dollar, where the mint decides when to release new currency into the system, the flow of bitcoin is more like free-market capitalism. Anyone can make money appear, but it takes time and dedication to the process.

What do you think? Is bitcoin the wave of the future?