My world is changing...

My world is changing...

E-commerce is changing the way the world shops, one can now purchase goods and services online either with a direct bank transfer of the amount charged or by swiping one’s credit card. But did you also know that now you can do all this and more by using virtual currency? Yes, it’s entirely legal to purchase some goods and services online using virtual currencies like Bitcoin!

Now how is this possible you may ask.. I did some research on Bitcoin concept myself and this is what i have found

A software developer called Satoshi Nakamoto proposed Bitcoin, which was an electronic payment system based on mathematical proof. The idea was to produce a currency independent of any central authority, transferable electronically, more or less instantly, with very low transaction fees.

Conventional currency used to be based on gold, or silver. Bitcoin is based on mathematics. Around the world, people are using software programs that follow a mathematical formula to produce Bitcoins. The mathematical formula is freely available, so that anyone can check it. The software is also open source, meaning that anyone can look at it to make sure that it does what it is supposed to.

Bitcoin has several important features.

1. It’s decentralized

The network isn’t controlled by one central authority. Every machine that mines Bitcoins and processes transactions makes up a part of the network, and the machines work together. That means that, in theory, one central authority can’t tinker with monetary policy and cause a meltdown – or simply decide to take people’s Bitcoins away from them.

2. It’s easy to set up

3. It’s anonymous

4. It’s completely transparent

Bitcoin stores details of every single transaction that ever happened in the network in a huge version of a general ledger, called the block chain. The block chain tells all. If you have a publicly used bitcoin address, anyone can tell how many bitcoins are stored at that address. They just don’t know that it’s yours.

5. Transaction fees are miniscule

6. Its fast

You can send money anywhere, and it will arrive minutes later, after the Bitcoin network processes the payment.

7. Its non-repudiable

When your Bitcoins are sent, there’s no getting them back unless the recipient sends them to you. They’re spent.

But what goods/services can one buy with Bitcoins?

One of the biggest destinations for people’s Bitcoin is online gambling. It’s fast, with an immediate return (or loss) and bets can start relatively small.

There are some more general e-commerce sites selling multiple products in a particular category and offering cross-category sales.

Bitcoinshop.us, for example, offers products from air-conditioners to watches, all priced in Bitcoin, for those wanting to make a purchase. The catch: it only ships to people in the continental US.

BitcoinStore.com sells electronics and ships internationally.

Now it’s actually really up to us to embrace this virtual reality!