The only reason why you don`t own Bitcoin is that you don`t know enough about it…. Bozhenko Oleh

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      Fig.9 Market value of bitcoin

      Bitcoin is decentralized, meaning it has no CEO, board of directors, and marketing budget. Yet its total value is roughly the same as the two largest credit card companies. Securities, such as stocks or bonds, give investors rights to a share of ownership, profits, or the right to receive interest payments. They usually have a legal status and are governed by relevant laws and regulations. Bitcoin has no legal status and is not regulated by central or state authorities. Bitcoin is not a security because it is not a financial instrument that entitles you to a share of ownership or profits from any company or asset. Unlike stocks, bonds, or other securities, bitcoin is a cryptocurrency, a digital asset operated on blockchain technology*.

      Bitcoin is a business — you can buy equipment, rent it out to a network, and get paid for it, or buy part of a mining company as an investor. You can even directly buy hash rate in the form of tokens, open an exchange platform, or put your Bitcoin ATM. Everything is as it should be — business purchases goods cheaper and sells them more expensive.

      The definition that bitcoin is MLM (multi-level marketing) is very superficial. There is no business plan or tiers, but there are product consumers who recommend the product to others and attract new members to the network. The more participants or users, the more valuable the currency is.

      Bitcoin is the new perfect money. You can exchange them for any goods you have in the world. Although, it is not yet as easy to do as exchanging US dollars or euros. You have to search for who accepts Bitcoin, but it is possible. And BTC is, by all definitions, money, or maybe even something more. Bitcoin can be considered the digital equivalent of cash without the physical embodiment. It serves as a medium of exchange, a store of value, and an investment asset, but it does not have the attributes of a security. Bitcoin has no relation to any companies or project’s financial health or profits. Yes, bitcoin is not very suitable for transferring small amounts of money, and yes, while you will pay for the product, its price may fall or rise. But we will come back to this issue later.

      Bitcoin is gold, but it has one key difference: gold, like Bitcoin, resists inflation on its own, but it is harder to store, move, and sell.

      Besides, one day, gold will be mined so much that there will be no point in new mining, and the price will stop rising. And if there is a crisis, all production companies will start reducing their purchases to save themselves. In the end, gold, like the states, will lose, and its price will fall.

      As we can see, gold is significantly inferior to bitcoin, and in addition, unlike BTC, it does not participate in the role of raw materials for the company like gold. In contrast, it has a different role. It is more of an arbitrage and not a commodity role. But as great as Bitcoin is, it still doesn’t come close to the market value of gold and silver, the other two decentralized assets.

      The total global value of gold is just over $12 trillion, and silver is worth about $1 trillion. I believe this is favorable for bitcoin, which currently has a market capitalization of about $433 billion. For a digital asset to have the same value as silver, each bitcoin must be valued at $60k, which it has reached before and will likely reach again.

      For BTC to become as valuable as gold, it would have to trade for a staggering 630 thousand dollars, which is not the best option if we want to have time to stockpile this valuable resource (Fig.10).

      Fig 10 Advantages of Bitcoin compared to Gold and government money

      Bitcoin is the most secure database, and for many years since its inception in 2009, no one has been able to trick, hack, or alter it in any way. Anything can be written into this database, up to 4 MB in size, and this information will be stored in the network’s memory until our planet ceases to exist.

      Bitcoin is a commodity expressed at its best. According to the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), bitcoin is the only crypto-asset officially considered a commodity. All other coins and tokens can be classified as securities. Now, think about why I am talking about Bitcoin and not its alternatives.

      Bitcoin is a religion or sect that believes jealously in technology and the possibility of a decent life given to everyone. Bitcoin has its own symbol, similar to the cross for Christianity or the crescent moon for Islam. Its «B» symbol is known by literally every person on the planet who has accessed the Internet at least once. In such a religion, there is a specific «God of Bitcoin,» symbolizing the incomprehensible idea of a decentralized financial system.

      There are also sacred texts containing information about blockchain and cryptocurrency. There are rituals associated with using or investing in Bitcoin to help believers feel connected to its ideas and community. There are holidays like Bitcoin’s birthday or the famous Bitcoin Pizza Day dedicated to the first purchase made with the coin. There is also a mythical creator – Satoshi Nakamoto, and other personalities who have made a particular contribution to the development of Bitcoin and have been honored, brought gifts, or invested in charity or development projects supporting Bitcoin. There is even merch – symbols, items, and clothing that help users identify with this religion. You don’t have to go far – you’re holding this book that is also part of the Bitcoin culture and religion.

      Now for a more complex concept. Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency based on the Bitcoin Protocol, which uses a distributed network of nodes (nodes) to provide security and transaction support. If you don’t know what it is, don’t feel bad. The main thing to remember is that the СКАЧАТЬ