Bitcoin: the point on the universal virtual currency that weighs heavily



Initially published on Libre d'Agir In May and June, the major attacks that destabilized the industry's tenors in France and around the world were based on the encryption of data from contaminated computers. To release this data, a message gave instructions to realize the payment of a ransom via bitcoins. But what is this digital currency that circulates under the mantles of the Internet since its launch and which even has an official course?
The bitcoin has the abbreviation BTC or XBT. This is what is called a cryptomony. "Crypto", because it is encrypted, in other words, coded to secure it. The encoding in question meets the highest encryption standard: the SHA-256. In fact, with this system, money is falsifiable, unlike all the others. There is thus no forger of bitcoins. Some merchant sites are sometimes found to have this monetary unit. It is also used by many service providers working mainly on Internet technologies.

▶ Who owns the bitcoin and who manages it?

This digital currency belongs to nobody, but was created in 2009 by an individual whose name is virtually nothing but its name: Satoshi Nakamoto ... and again ... It could well be a pseudonym. It is also beyond the control of States or persons. But beware, it is not for the jungle.
For, beyond the currency, there is also the system of exchange bitcoin via Internet. Its conception is public, nobody can own it or control it and everyone can join it. To secure the currency, in addition to encryption, a clever process makes the financial exchanges pass through all the computers of the users organized in nodes on the network. This is called the blockchain. If, for example, an element of the node is missing, the transaction can not be established. In addition, each exchange is archived digitally and automatically in the equivalent of a large book of accounts. We can therefore consult the history of exchanges since the creation of the first bitcoin in 2009.

▶ Who uses bitcoins?

Generally, as soon as one speaks of bitcoin, the term is associated with the cybercrime, as recall the last attacks via ransomwares. Even if it is less true today, money is considered the grail of criminal networks, gambling, drugs and money laundering. In reality, although this part is the most visible and striking part, it has a very minor part of the use of bitcoins. In the future, it should even be dwindling, because if transactions are discrete and secure, they are not as anonymous as at the beginning. This is why this share of users migrates to other virtual currencies than the bitcoin.
Moreover, in spite of its recent attractiveness, the currency is finally very little exploited. Its trade is estimated to be about $ 150 million a day and its growth remains low. It must be said that this currency remains hampered by banks because of the potential competition that it can generate. Similarly, apart from the most "geeks" of individuals, the general public has little confidence in this currency and would not really know how to use it if necessary. It must be said that the concept is very abstract and its operation complex. Yet, the settlement of a transaction by bitcoin is within everyone's reach. It's childish! Finally, it should be emphasized that there are many other numerical currencies much less used, but which come to punctuate part of the potential of the bitcoin. There are 14 in all.

▶ A virtual currency that is worth its weight in gold

That said, the evolution of the course of the bitcoin has something to make abundantly salivate the followers of speculation. At the time of writing these lines, know that a bitcoin is worth 1 983,94 € (2282,23 $). But this course can fluctuate enormously in a very short time. Thus, the day before, this currency was worth 300 € less. That said, it should be remembered that when launched in 2009, 1 bitcoin was worth just $ 1 ... Imagine the fortune that the first users of this currency could collect ...
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It should be noted that, unlike a physical currency, virtual currencies are available in limited quantities. In the case of the bitcoin, the ceiling is set at 21 million units. Currently, the amount of bitcoins in circulation is around 16 million, for a total amount equivalent to 42.45 billion dollars. Units of currency will be issued gradually to the dropper to reach eventually this maximum of 21 million. This ceiling explains why the value of bitcoins increases with its rarity. But it is not the only reason. Indeed, all these virtual currencies are modeled on the same principle: that of the gold diggers.
Initially, there is a lot of gold and few gold diggers. Finding it requires little and is easy enough. In other words, virtual money is abundant. Then researchers will multiply and gold will become more difficult to find. With the next step, we will have to invest more and more human and material resources to collect gold. Finally, since gold is a scarce resource, its sources will dry up and the means of finding it will cost more and more.

▶ A currency like any other in a few years?

Today, the bitcoin is at the level of the third stage of its equivalent in gold search. Faced with this enthusiasm, if the authorities have no control over the currency, they nevertheless monitor its use and in particular the nature of the goods and services that are bought with. They also check its conversion into currencies. In the future, the total anonymity of transactions should be less and less assured, which should scare away the latest cybercriminals using this currency. It should also develop because of its perfect match with transactions via the Internet (security, immediacy, confidentiality ...).
Before the bitcoin becomes as rare as it is unaffordable, it is still time to learn this system by investing a few tens of euros. This is what I propose to discover more concretely soon in a second chronicle on the bitcoin.

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