There are more than 5,000 cryptocurrencies around the world; Bitcoin is the best known among them. It was created as an aftermath of a financial crisis in 2008 by Satoshi Nakamoto. As the world was battling the global recession, Bitcoin's white paper laid the foundation for the first digital money based on Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT), which is known as the blockchain.
Besides, Bitcoin came as a solution to be the first cryptocurrency not regulated by banks or the government. The digital currency functions independently and can be used as a substitute for fiat currencies like the British Pound and US dollars. Furthermore, users can be assured of a safe and secured transaction as all their information is encrypted using a cypher key. This review will cover all you need to know about bitcoin and how it can be used.
How Bitcoin Can Be Used?
There are several ways you can use Bitcoin as a cryptocurrency. You can choose to hold it, sell it or mine it. Also, you can use Bitcoin to make payments at online stores and also make withdrawals. Most popular companies are now embracing bitcoin as a mode of making payments all around the world.
Shopping with Bitcoins
Most online vendors are now accepting bitcoin as a payment method in their stores. Alternatively, you can use cryptocurrency debit and credit cards to make your payments at these online stores. You can also get gift cards using Bitcoin. Some online stores that accept Bitcoin include Overstock and Newegg.
Withdrawals and Deposits at Betting Sites
Top gambling companies are now accepting cryptocurrencies to make payments because it is safe and secured. So the first thing you need to do if you want to deposit at an online casino using bitcoin is to create a bitcoin wallet. After that, you can choose any cryptocurrency wallet you feel you want to use.
The next thing is to find a trustworthy betting site that accepts Bitcoin as a payment option. Make sure you choose among the best bitcoin betting sites on the internet so that you can get a top-notch service. On the casino site, check the cashier page and select Bitcoin as your deposit option.
The betting site will give you their wallet address where you can transfer your funds. The next thing is to go back to your Bitcoin wallet and paste the casino's wallet address to make your deposit. However, you’ll need to wait for a couple of minutes for your payment to process. Then, check your casino account and place a bet using the funds you just transferred.
Buying Video Games
As a video game player, you can now use Bitcoin to make purchases on the providers' website. All you need is to add bitcoin as a mode of making payment and access your Bitcoin wallet to make the purchase. Some video games companies that accept Bitcoin payments include Xbox, Humble Bundle, and Big Fish Games.
Hotels and Airline Tickets
Paying hotel fees and airline tickets have been made easy as you can now use Bitcoin to make payment. All you need to book a reservation or pay for your airline ticket is to convert your bitcoin to fiat currencies. Interestingly, there are several apps you can download to convert your Bitcoin to fiat. Some hotels that accept Bitcoin include Sandman Hotels, Casual Hotels, and The Chedi Andermatt.
Donations
Besides booking reservations, you can use Bitcoin to make a generous donation to a charitable cause. For people that want anonymity, they can make their donation in Bitcoin to the non-profit organization. One good thing about making donations using Bitcoin is paying reduced tax on the amount you donate. Additionally, the organisation gets the full donation you make because they do not pay capital gain taxes. One of the non-profit organizations that accept bitcoin is Wikimedia Foundation.
How Does Bitcoin Work?
Bitcoin is a decentralized digital currency that can be used to make payments and withdrawals for goods and services anywhere in the world. This is possible through the peer-to-peer network of several computers worldwide sharing information on the digital space.
As we have said earlier, cryptocurrencies help users eliminate the need to use the conventional fiat currencies that the government or banks control. Interestingly, people can use bitcoin to pay for goods bought at online stores, pay or withdraw funds from a betting site, and pay for a subscription on a website.
That said, Bitcoin uses blockchain technology, which contains the information blocks of several users around the world. The information includes the date and time of the transaction, total value, the buyer and the seller and the unique code for the exchange. All the transactions made on the blockchain network are held together chronologically, which is visible to everyone on the network.
To start using Bitcoin, you need to find a cryptocurrency wallet. The cryptocurrency wallet is the store that houses the private keys that you will need to access your cryptocurrency on the blockchain. The good thing about using cryptocurrencies like bitcoin is that no one can access your information on the blockchain. There are two types of cryptocurrency wallets you can choose to use: the hot and cold wallet.
Hot wallets are cryptocurrency wallets that can be accessed via the internet. Users can either use their desktop or mobile devices to access their private keys when using the hot wallets. One downside to this is that it can easily be hacked since it's online. Some hot wallets you can use include Electrum, Bitcoin Wallet, Bither, Coinbase and Edge.
There are also cold wallets that can be accessed offline using a piece of hardware.
Cold wallets are considered safer as they can’t be hacked. However, users are at risk of losing the hardware where the private key is stored. Some cold wallets you can use include Coldcard, KeepKey, and Trezor Model One.
Conclusion
Overall, we’ve been able to explain all you need to know about bitcoin in this piece. Bitcoin is a digital currency that can be used to make payments over the internet. To make payments using Bitcoin, you need to have a wallet that will help you to connect the blockchain network. There are several cryptocurrency wallets you can download on your desktop or mobile device.
One of the reasons most companies embrace a cryptocurrency like Bitcoin is that it’s not regulated by the government or banks. You can use Bitcoin in several ways, which include making withdrawals and deposits at betting sites, making payments at online stores, and booking reservations at hotels.
