I\u2019ve been hearing a lot lately about something called \u201cbitcoin.\u201d I\u2019m almost embarrassed to acknowledge that I really don\u2019t understand bitcoins. A few years ago, I tried to keep up with most technical topics. Part of the reason, was because it was almost necessary for my job, but technology has always been of interest to me. It still is, but I guess not enough for me to make the effort to keep up with it. Technological advances are spewing up at an alarming pace and I\u2019m slowing down at almost the same alarming pace.<\/p>\n
Anyhow, my extensive research uncovered the fact that in 2009 some guy (person) created a new currency called Bitcoin. I don\u2019t think anyone really knows who the person is because he\/she used an alias \u2014 Satoshi Nakamoto.
\nBitcoins can supposedly be used to book hotels on sites like Expedia and shop at online sites like Overstock. All transactions are made directly between the buyer and seller \u2014 no banks, or credit card companies are involved.
\nPeople (or businesses) can send bitcoins to each other using mobile apps on their phones or via their computers. I think this is kind of like sending cash digitally. Bitcoins are stored in a digital wallet \u2014 that wallet can be on your phone\/computer or in the \u201ccloud.\u201d<\/p>\n
I\u2019m not sure how this works, but apparently each bitcoin transaction is recorded in a public log \u2014 only using a \u201cwallet ID.\u201d Names of buyers and sellers are never revealed. Maybe I\u2019m missing something here, but this seems like a haven for terrorists, drug dealers or other unscrupulous activities.<\/p>\n
A lot remains unclear to me, but the one that thing that is most unclear is… how do you get<\/em> bitcoins? It seems that people compete to \u201cmine\u201d bitcoins using computers to solve complex math puzzles \u2014 that\u2019s how they are created. Marketplaces called \u201cbitcoin exchanges\u201d allow people to buy or sell bitcoins using \u201cregular\u201d currency.<\/p>\n After all my extensive research, I still don\u2019t \u201cget\u201d the bitcoin phenomenon. But according to the news the past few weeks, it seems that a lot of people believe they can get rich by trading it \u2014 the price of bitcoin has skyrocketed \u2014 and<\/em> \u2014 plummeted in the last week or so. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I\u2019ve been hearing a lot lately about something called \u201cbitcoin.\u201d I\u2019m almost embarrassed to acknowledge that I really don\u2019t understand bitcoins. A few years ago, I tried to keep up with most technical topics. Part of the reason, was because … Continue reading
\nMaybe I\u2019m just getting old, but I kind of like my credit cards… and I can even still deal with cash.
\n\u2014 30 \u2014<\/p>\n