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When I first heard about Bitcoin, it sounded really exciting and interesting. It sounded like a great way to decentralise money. To take the power away from banks and suchlike. It was followed by a number of similar "coins" like Litecoin, Namecoin and Swiftcoin. I realised it would be popular with criminals, using the Silk Road on the "dark web" due to it's "anonymity". But so does cash, so I figured that was acceptable. My computer has always been rather dated, I'm not bothered about hi-tech, latest stuff. So I never got into mining or anything, it's a shame as Bitcoins shot up in value somewhat, since then!
But since then, my opinion on cryptocurrency, in this form, is less positive. I still think it's an amazing idea. But there are issues.
Firstly, the environmental cost of mining. It started as something any moderate computer would have been able to do. But a new block has to be mined every 10 minutes, and with more and more devices, all more and more powerful, the difficulty of the mining has to continuously increase. So, now mining requires extremely powerful, specially made, mining 'rigs'. It uses an enormous amount of power in total. And it means, far from being something that anyone can do, it means only the richest can afford such a machine; which takes away the decentralised aspect.
Bitcoin energy use might be around 110 Terawatt Hours per year. That's about the same as Sweden...
It's also complicated. It's not really, but it is harder than giving cash or using a credit card. It requires learning something, just to spend money. You get it wrong and you might over or under pay by an order of magnitude. You could also lose all your coins, if you are careless with your keys. Lose them, or inadvertently give them away and you can't spend your money any more. It's there, but inaccessible.
There is also the problem of volatility. Generally the value has gone up. But there is no way to guarantee that it always will. Your coins might be worth less this time tomorrow, who knows. If you accepted Bitcoin for a item you sell, they may give you £250 today. But when you go so spend or sell you coins, they could be worth just £150. It might go up, it might crash permanently.
There is added risk, compared to paying by card. Sometimes you are able to get your money back, if there is a problem with an item you buy with a card. But bitcoin transactions are permanent.
Not many places accept bitcoin. This isn't a problem as such, as more will accept it if it became more popular.
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