Crypto2

Blockchain and the Chain gang When we perform transactions, taking out used notes from our wallets or simply taking out a mortgage loan, there's always a record of the transaction that took place. Since antiquity, man has perfected the art of buying and selling, supply and demand.

So with Bitcoin and any other cryptocurrency, a record must exist too and that's called a blockchain or a ledger or record, or receipt whichever term you prefer to name it. But in cryptocurrency trading, this ledger is shared among different parties and it's contents can only be updated by mass consensus of the parties who made those transactions. Once the data has been entered into the system, that information can never be erased without the other party in the next block or the one before it not knowing about it. Essentially what I'm trying to get at is nobody actually runs Bitcoin!

So that means no more 'Bernie Madoff' at the helm making off with grandma's last dime. The world of cryptocurrency is all about supply and demand with market forces being the drive engine than government monetary restrictions, curbs or inflation. Just think about blockchains like the internet with no one central server regulating all transfers and akin to file sharing, peer to peer handshaking all safely taking place inside a encrypted network. So no tampering and not getting made right away. That also means cutting out the middle man like credit card companies, banks or other financial institutions who charge a small percent for every transaction you make with them. And for merchants, that's a plus point because all these tiny micro percentage charges can rake up quite a lot if you are buying and selling in large amounts. And not to mention doing away with foreign exchange rates and delays in processing time.

To mention blockchains is to talk about Bitcoin. Why after all, Bitcoin is the most trusted and the leading cryptocurrency in the market today since it started the whole digital currency revolution back in 2009. There are now more than 500 over cryptocurrencies in the market today each jostling for the number two spot. With all the hype and the popularity generated about cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin is not without flaws. But that being said, Bitcoin is a mile away from the scams of Ponzi and Pyramid schemes. They differ in that the man at the top, the numero uno makes away with the money while the ones and the bottom footing the bill.

It's no longer financially sound to not include Bitcoin into your investment portfolio. No reason to not include some of your money tucked away in Bitcoin. From 2009 when Bitcoin was first introduced into the market, it's market value grew to $1.5m in 2011. Then in January 2013, it catapulted to $145m! The price kept soaring to even greater heights to hit an almost unbelievable $10 billion in January 2014 and then steadily dropping in 2015. Bitcoin is no exception to the laws of economics and of supply and demand. As more late investment adopters enter the market, the value of Bitcoin started to rise gradually due to an inescapable fact of finite (maximum supply stands at 21 million) Bitcoins in circulation.

It's never too late to start investing in Bitcoin. For retail investors, if you want to purchase Bitcoins, a no-brainer stop would be buying them online from Coinbase and Circle. Additional government regulations only allow a certain number of coins you can purchase and these are safely stored in an online wallet protected by two-factor authentication. For traders and investors with deeper pockets can head to Bitstamp or Bitfinex. There you are paired with buyers and sellers and value is decided among both parties at an agreed price, much like how a stock exchange functions. No trading is without inherent risks even for Bitcoin. So always apply sound investment goals and you'll do fine.