For quite some time, detractors of cryptocurrency would say that bitcoin didn’t have much practical use and was searching for a purpose. In the beginning they may have had somewhat of a point if they ignored the fact that there was a need at least for a buffer against the centralized banking system. Bitcoin has become mainstream and is used all over the world. Even governments use cryptocurrency and the blockchain for various uses, and leading industries like online casinos have started integrating it too

These days, after a decade of existence, bitcoin has shown that it wasn’t just a fantasy of some tech nerd somewhere and that it does have a lot of practical uses. In fact, you can use your bitcoin for any number of things. Some people like to buy and trade it to make money as an investment. Others are happy to hold onto it as a way to protect their assets. And still others like to use it to pay for things.

Bitcoin has become mainstream and is used all over the world. Even governments use cryptocurrency and the blockchain for various uses. Big business has gotten into using the currency as it saves money to make transfers. All this adds up to it being a viable alternative to using cash that is safe and effective. 

In this article, we will go over the advantages of using bitcoin as an actual currency.

No Inflation

The fact that bitcoin and all cryptocurrencies are decentralized means that they are not susceptible to inflation. You get the same buying power today as you will next month with bitcoin. If there is inflation, then you actually end up with more buying power as the dollar loses value.

Since there is no central authority that issues bitcoin it can’t be susceptible to inflation. During a recession or other crisis, a central bank or reserve can print more money to have in circulation which reduces the value of the dollar.

With bitcoin, this doesn’t happen. Now it can lose value if the exchange of dollars to bitcoin changes, but this is the same for any currency and is not dependent on inflation. 

With a Bitcoin ATM machine, you can be sure that you are getting much more for your dollars that you withdraw after selling your bitcoin than you would be getting if you were withdrawing dollar for dollar. 

Better for International Purchases

If you are overseas or even shopping for items that come from overseas, then using bitcoin to pay is much better than doing it the old fashioned way.

Converting dollars to the foreign currency often takes time and the fees are astronomical. Instead, since bitcoin doesn’t need any third party intermediaries, there are very low fees. There is just a fee for the transaction but that is pretty much it.

Bitcoin is worldwide at this point with many companies and businesses accepting it as they would any other currency. And the value is the same no matter where in the world you plan to use it. 

The transactions are almost instant since there is no bank that needs to approve the transaction. Especially since banks don’t operate 24 hours a day like the blockchain does. 

It’s Portable

No matter where you find yourself in the world, you have access to your bitcoin. And they can’t be destroyed or degraded. As long as you don’t lose the secret keys then you always have access.

If your house burns down, you still have your bitcoins. If you lose your wallet, you still have your bitcoins. If the economy crashes, you still have your bitcoins. The key is how technologically advanced the wallet is. In some ways they can resemble your ordinary USB drive, but they go way beyond just a way to save files and keep your bitcoin or other cryptocurrency.

This wallet is encrypted with the latest in security so your currency is always safe. And if you don’t want to carry around a physical drive as a wallet, you can use a digital one that can be accessed online from anywhere and any device.

It’s Confidential

Anytime you use your credit or debit card there is a record of the transfer. This can pose some problems when you want to surprise somebody with a gift, or just don’t want anybody else to know your spending habits. 

This isn’t the case when you use cryptocurrency to purchase things. There is a record on the blockchain, as that’s the whole point. But, there is nothing in the transaction that would identify who you are. You don’t get a statement of account from using blockchain. The whole reason it was invented in the first place is to be a currency without any direct authority over it.

You can have complete anonymity when using it. Which has posed some problems with law enforcement when people want to use it for criminal activity. In fact, part of the reputation of cryptocurrency is that people assume that you would only want to use it to hide wrongdoing.

As we can see, there are a lot of reasons to not want your purchases to be known and not all of them are for any kind of fraudulent behavior.

Very Secure

The very fact that it is decentralized makes it a very safe way to spend money. A bank has all of your details in a database somewhere and often those servers get hacked and the data leaked. 

This can’t happen on the blockchain because there is no personal data involved at all. Not only that, but nobody can hack into the blockchain anyway since it isn’t only any single source. The blockchain resides on millions of individual servers and computers. This means a hacker would have to simultaneously hack into every one of them and that is impossible. 

Conclusion

Bitcoin and cryptocurrency is not for everybody. Somepeople still aren’t convinced and they have every right to be skeptical. 

For every person that isn’t convinced, there are far more that are adopting this payment method and seeing all of the benefits. 

*This article has been contributed on behalf of Paxful. However, the information provided herein is not and is not intended to be, investment, financial, or other advice.

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