7 Transactional Properties Of Bitcoin That Promise For A Successful Global Currency
By Latest In Crypto on ALTCOIN MAGAZINE
The characteristics below are the main proponents to why Bitcoin has seen success as a means of exchange and will be appropriate for a globalized currency in the future
Decentralization
The blockchain distributed ledger technology allows for Bitcoin to be decentralized with no single point of failure, making it more democratic and resilient.
No single individual or corporation controls the bitcoin network, but each individual has the opportunity to become a processor of the network, further contributing to its security and integrity of the network.
The development of the Bitcoin Core code is also open-source and committed code has verified a community of experienced developers.
Limited Supply
Bitcoin has a fixed lifetime supply of 21 million Bitcoin, being mined at a diminishing rate (mining rate being halved approximately every 4 years) until the maximum of 21 million has been reached. As of Sept. 2019, 18 million Bitcoin have been mined into existence.
This transparent system allows for the reliable and mathematical money supply, as well as preventing the money printing flaw of traditional fiat currencies which leads to consistent inflation and long term devaluation.
Pseudonymity
Neither transactions nor accounts on the Bitcoin blockchain are connected to real-world identities or any personal information, however in practice, each wallet address and historical blockchain transaction can be used to identify and track users.
This allows for digital accountability of transactions and a permanent paper trail for regulation, but the analysis of the transaction flow will still be disconnected from the real world identity of users.
Immutability
The Bitcoin protocol provides an immutable ledger, so all transactions and records of transactions cannot be tampered with or reversed. This property is essential for a digital currency as it provides validation for transactions and values.
Divisibility
The Bitcoin currency can be divided up or tokenized into one hundred millionths of a Bitcoin (0.00000001 BTC) — this denomination is also called one ‘satoshi’. This divisibility allows easier long-term use of the cryptocurrency, and allows for micro-transactions and precise values.
Fast Global Transactions
The Bitcoin system spans a global network of users and devices and therefore ignores our inherent transaction limitations with government-owned fiat currencies. Bitcoin transactions are propagated nearly instantly in the network and confirmed in a few minutes regardless of user locations.
Permission-less
No permission is required to become part of and contribute to the Bitcoin blockchain network, which is a core property contributing to the decentralized public characteristics of Bitcoin.
The Bitcoin system also allows for users to be in charge of their own money, with no third party or intermediary required to send or receive Bitcoins.
This guide is part 2 of our comprehensive series of articles outlining Bitcoin Features and Market Assessment — perfect for beginner education on Bitcoin.
- What is Bitcoin? An overview of the use case and creation of Bitcoin
- Transactional Properties of Bitcoin that make it appropriate for a decentralized global digital currency
- Why Bitcoin will succeed. An analysis of success and growth factors as well as a market opportunity assessment for Bitcoin
- Threats to Bitcoin. An objective analysis of the threats and obstacles to Bitcoin’s success
- Bitcoin Development. An overview of key technology innovations that will be developed and adopted to exponentially increase Bitcoin’s future usability.
- How to buy Bitcoin? An overview of your options for purchase and storage of cryptocurrency