Why bitcoin？

For about ten years, the media sphere has entertained us with news about bitcoin, burying it more than 300 times and not planning to stop. The secret of bitcoin is not powerful enough to reveal even the self-proclaimed experts. However, this does not stop investors from investing in what is often called the largest bubble in modern history.

If you happen to ask these investors why they need bitcoins, most likely, you will see only confused looks and raised eyebrows. Gold, for example, is used in mints, jewelry, as a conductor for high-precision electronics and material for medical implants. With the definition of the range of use of bitcoin, things are somewhat more complicated. If bitcoin is a true commodity, its value should consist not only of the value of the investment instrument. So, what is bitcoin used for?

As an alternative means of payment

If you spend enough time online, you may have noticed a growing number of projects accepting bitcoin as a means of payment. This does not disdain the major players in the market, including Overstock.com, Expedia, Newegg, DishNetwork and Microsoft.

Some companies accept bitcoin only. Why? Sometimes entrepreneurs do something that goes against the principles of traditional financial institutions, be it providing VPN traffic, selling marijuana or showing adult videos. Since bitcoin uses a p2p system, such services may not be afraid of blocking their accounts. It makes sense for their users to get a bitcoin wallet.

In General, bitcoin has become quite popular. It is accepted by more than 100,000 sellers on the Internet and offline, and their number is growing every day.

As an alternative to debit card

Bitcoin provides opportunities similar to banking services. In some regions, people already have access to bitcoin ATMs, where you can withdraw funds from your wallet or transfer them to a bitcoin card. Such cards can be an alternative to debit Bank cards. There is even a material bitcoin coin, but it is rather an expensive souvenir than a practical thing.

As a permanent transaction register

In January 2009, when Satoshi Nakamoto nominal the Genesis block of bitcoin, he left the following entry: "The Times 3 Jan 2009 Chancellor on the brink of another bail out of the banks".

This reference to the modern banking system reflects one of the main elements of bitcoin. Blockchain records all transactions of this cryptocurrency. More importantly, due to the fact that third-party data can be entered into the record, bitcoin can be used to exchange information and values that are not related to itself. This mechanism is much better implemented by altcoins like Ethereum, but it was bitcoin that first proposed such a concept.

Instead of Fiat currency

Bitcoin is a ready-made solution for those who do not want or can not use the Fiat currency, who have lost faith in Central banks, live in a country with a degrading economy or in a region where there is no stable currency. If you omit bitcoin's recent super volatility, it represents a good investment and a healthy alternative to the Fiat currency at the moment.

Of course, no one knows what the future holds for bitcoin. However, the use cases described above are valid at the moment and, apparently, will be valid for some time