What are the pros and cons of Bitcoin and stocks?

Bitcoin is the most versatile cryptocurrency around. It can be used to purchase goods from an ever-growing roster of merchants (including recognizable companies like Expedia and Overstock.com) that accept Bitcoin payments. It can be exchanged with other private users as consideration for services performed or to settle outstanding debts. It can be swapped for other currencies, both traditional and virtual, on electronic exchanges that function similar to forex exchanges. And, unfortunately, it can be used to facilitate illicit activity, such as the purchase of illegal drugs on dark web marketplaces like the infamous (and now-shuttered) Silk Road.

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How Bitcoin Works

Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency, meaning it’s supported by a source code that uses highly complex algorithms to prevent unauthorized duplication or creation of Bitcoin units. The code’s underlying principles, known as cryptography, are based on advanced mathematical and computer engineering principles. It’s virtually impossible to break Bitcoin’s source code and manipulate the currency’s supply.

User Anonymity

Intense privacy protections are baked into Bitcoin’s source code. The system is designed to publicly record Bitcoin transactions and other relevant data without revealing the identity of the individuals or groups involved. Instead, Bitcoin users are identified by public keys, or numerical codes that identify them to other users, and sometimes pseudonymous handles or usernames.

Bitcoin Exchanges

Bitcoin exchanges allow users to exchange Bitcoin units for fiat currencies, such as the U.S. dollar and euro, at variable exchange rates. Many Bitcoin exchanges also exchange Bitcoin units for other cryptocurrencies, including less popular alternatives that can’t directly be exchanged for fiat currencies. Most Bitcoin exchanges take a cut, typically less than 1%, of each transaction’s value.

Block Chain

Bitcoin’s block chain is vital to its function. The block chain is a public, distributed ledger of all prior Bitcoin transactions, which are stored in groups known as blocks. Every node of Bitcoin’s software network – the server farms and terminals, run by individuals or groups known as miners, whose efforts to produce new Bitcoin units result in the recording and authentication of Bitcoin transactions, and the periodic creation of new blocks – contains an identical record of Bitcoin’s block chain.

Private Keys

Every Bitcoin user has at least one private key (basically, a password), which is a whole number between 1 and 78 digits in length. Individual users can have multiple anonymous handles, each with its own private key. Private keys confirm their owners’ identities and allow them to spend or receive Bitcoin. Without them, users can’t complete transactions – meaning they can’t access their holdings until they recover the corresponding key. When a key is lost for good, the corresponding holdings move into a sort of permanent limbo and can’t be recovered.

Wallets

Actual Bitcoin units are stored in “wallets” – secure cloud storage locations with special information confirming their owners (Bitcoin users) as the guardians of the Bitcoin units contained within. Though wallets like Coinbase theoretically protect against the theft of Bitcoin units that aren’t currently being used, they’re vulnerable to hacking – particularly public wallets used by Bitcoin exchanges, online marketplaces, and specialized websites that exist solely to store Bitcoin wallets known as “wallet services.”

Miners

Miners play a vital role in the Bitcoin ecosystem. As keepers of the block chain, they keep the entire Bitcoin community honest and indirectly support the currency’s value.

Miners are individuals or cooperative organizations with access to powerful computers, often stored at remote, privately owned “farms.” They perform incredibly complex mathematical tasks in an effort to mint new Bitcoin, which they then keep or exchange for fiat currency.

Finite Supply

Bitcoin’s own source code places a strict limit on the number of Bitcoin units that can ever exist: 21 million. This is achieved by slowing, over time, the rate at which the creation of new block chain copies produces new Bitcoin. Every four years or so, this rate halves. The last Bitcoin is projected to spring into being sometime around 2140 – that is, if the currency still exists and people still care enough to mine it. After that, miners’ sole compensation will be Bitcoin transaction fees.

Security Issues & Risk of Theft

Taken together, the security risks around Bitcoin are the currency’s single greatest drawback, and are worthy of special consideration for anyone considering converting U.S. dollars into Bitcoin.

The fact that Bitcoin units are virtually impossible to duplicate does not mean that Bitcoin users are immune to theft or fraud. The Bitcoin system has some imperfections and weak points that can be exploited by sophisticated hackers looking to steal Bitcoin for their own use. The Mt. Gox incident, as well as a host of smaller, less publicized incidents, underscore that Bitcoin exchanges are particularly vulnerable to theft by hacking.

Advantages of Using Bitcoin

1. Greater Liquidity Relative to Other Cryptocurrencies

As the most popular cryptocurrency by a significant margin, Bitcoin has far greater liquidity than its peers. This allows users to retain most of its inherent value when converting to fiat currencies, such as the U.S. dollar and euro. By contrast, most other cryptocurrencies either can’t be exchanged directly for fiat currencies or lose substantial value during such exchanges.

2. Increasingly Wide Acceptance as a Payment Method

Hundreds of merchants accept Bitcoin payments. Thanks to heavyweights like Overstock jumping on board, it’s possible to buy virtually any physical item using Bitcoin units. If you’re serious about reducing your exposure to fiat currencies, Bitcoin’s growing mainstream acceptance is likely to be a big help.

3. International Transactions Easier Than Regular Currencies

Bitcoin transactions that cross international borders are no different from Bitcoin transactions that stay in-country. There aren’t any international transaction fees or red tape to navigate, as is often the case with credit card payments, ATM cash withdrawals, and international money transfers. International credit card and ATM fees can range up to 3% of transaction value, and sometimes higher, while money transfer fees can be as high as 15%.

4. Generally Lower Transaction Fees

Compared to other digital payment methods, such as credit cards and PayPal, Bitcoin comes with lower transaction fees. Though such fees are variable, it’s rare for a Bitcoin transaction to cost more than 1% of its value. Compare that to 2% to 3% for most other digital payments.

Disadvantages of Using Bitcoin

1. Exposure to Bitcoin-Specific Scams and Fraud

As the world’s most popular cryptocurrency, Bitcoin has seen more than its fair share of medium-specific scams, fraud, and attacks. These range from small-time Ponzi schemes, such as Bitcoin Savings & Trust, to massive hack attacks, such as the breaches that felled Sheep Marketplace and Mt. Gox.

2. Black Market Activity May Damage Reputation and Usefulness

Despite high-visibility prosecutions of the most egregious offenders, Bitcoin remains attractive to criminals and gray market participants. Obviously, dark web marketplaces like Silk Road and Sheep expose rank-and-file users to fraud and the threat of criminal prosecution.

3. Susceptible to High Price Volatility

Although Bitcoin is the most liquid and easily exchanged cryptocurrency, it remains susceptible to wild price swings over short periods of time. In the wake of the Mt. Gox collapse, Bitcoin’s value fell by more than 50%. Following the FBI’s announcement that it would treat Bitcoin and other virtual currencies as “legitimate financial services,” Bitcoin’s value spiked by a similar amount. In late 2017, Bitcoin’s value doubled several times, only to halve in the first weeks of 2018 – wiping out billions in market value almost overnight.

4. No Chargebacks or Refunds

One of Bitcoin’s biggest drawbacks is a lack of standardized policy for chargebacks or refunds, as all credit card companies and traditional online payment processors have. Users affected by transaction fraud – for instance, they purchase goods that the seller never delivers – can’t request a refund through Bitcoin. In fact, Bitcoin’s decentralized structure makes it impossible for any single party to arbitrate disputes between users. While miners take responsibility for recording transactions, they’re not qualified to assess their legitimacy.