What can you actually use Bitcoin for? 🧐

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Nov 18, 2020 · 3 min read

You may hear people say “well, what is Bitcoin good for? What can you do with it?” and the answer is — quite a lot, actually.

Following on from the last Britcoiners education piece on how to get Bitcoin, this week we’ve covered the top 3 ways you can use Bitcoin.

Listen below if you’re short for time or want to hear our team talk Bitcoin:

1. Investment 🤑

Individuals buying Bitcoin

By far the most popular reason why people are “in” Bitcoin is for investment reasons. This has formed a huge part of the retail sector, especially as Bitcoin is almost accessible to anyone.

Alternatively known as a store of wealth, Bitcoin’s price can fluctuate huge percentages in minutes and in its short 12 years alone it’s gone from $0 to $20,000 (2017’s all-time high).

Those following its price movements will buy and sell in the hopes of making a profit — much the same as trading stocks and shares, except there’s no company or entity behind Bitcoin.

When starting out with Bitcoin, it’s very important to do your own research and feel comfortable in the financial decisions you’re making. Don’t rely on hearsay about the Bitcoin price going up and down as it does its own thing and no one can predict what’s going to happen or when!

Businesses buying Bitcoin

Over the last few months, many global businesses have added Bitcoin to their balance sheet. This simply means that they’ve bought Bitcoin with company funds and shows incredible confidence in Bitcoin.

Some of the big names involved include MicroStrategy, Square, Stone Ridge, and Grayscale.

2. Paying for products and services 🛒

When we talk about Bitcoin and adoption, we’re really talking about how Bitcoin is developing and if a mass number of people are using it.

Although slower in adoption, paying for products and services with Bitcoin is a growing use case.

For example, we’re starting to see more retailers accepting Bitcoin via our CoinCorner Checkout service and this shows great progress for the industry. The more retailers that accept Bitcoin, the more widely used it will become.

Here are some reasons why Bitcoin is a good option for businesses:

• It’s way more secure
• Bitcoin can’t be charged back, so has no fraud
• The fees are considerably lower
• It’s a great way to reach new customers
• The payment process — scanning a QR code (yes, that’s it!)— is even simpler and quicker than entering card details

3. Bitcoin remittance 🌏

People are sending money around the world 24/7 and until Bitcoin came along, there were only limited and costly ways to do this.

Traditional ways to send money include Western Union, Money Gram and PayPal, but each of these options has fees and typically takes a long time to process.

There’s no competition when it comes to Bitcoin.

It doesn’t matter who or where you’re sending money, the fees are incredibly low and it takes minutes for the money to be received.

In October, for example, an anonymous person moved $1.1 billion in Bitcoin for the humble fee of $3.58 (at the time — see here). Just a reminder that we know this because all of Bitcoin’s transactions are visible to the public on the blockchain.

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