In recent years, you might have heard the term “Bitcoin.” If not, it is the time to be more active in the tech world and the internet. Bitcoin was in the news of the recent ransomware attack which reported to have infected more than 230,000 computers in over 150 countries. The attackers locked the computers and demanded payments in the form of Bitcoins in order to decrypt your files. If you are still wondering what are Bitcoins, continue reading this complete guide on Bitcoin.
What is Bitcoin
Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency invented by a person namely Satoshi Nakamoto (which is still uncertain) back in 2009. It is a digital payment system where the users can transfer amounts directly without a third-party in between. In other words, it is a peer-to-peer payment system.
All transactions are automatically verified by the network nodes in the program and recorded in a public distributed ledger. So, this is an open system where anyone with Bitcoins can make secure transactions, and no one is in control.
When compared to other digital currencies or the normal payment system, the Bitcoin transactions have no significant fees, or they are extremely low. So, the user can transfer almost the same amount to the recipient within a matter of seconds.
Bitcoins can be either Mined or bought by spending real money. There are a lot of Bitcoin shops available online which accepts real money and provide the Bitcoin equivalent. As of 22/06/2017, 1 Bitcoin is equal to 2664.99 US dollars.
Who Accept Bitcoins
One of the most asked questions regarding the Bitcoins is its acceptance. When compared to its starting days, there is a huge increase in the number of service providers and e-commerce companies which started accepting the Bitcoin payments. As per the latest reports around 100,000+ merchants and vendors accept Bitcoin payments in return for their products and services.
For your knowledge, we handpicked some of the most popular websites and services which accept Bitcoin as the payment system. Here are they.
- 1–800-FLOWERS.COM – An online floral and gift retailer and distributor in the US
- 4Chan.org – Providing premium services
- A Class Limousine – Pick you up and drop you off at Newark (N.J.) Airport
- Amagi Metals – Precious metal furnisher
- Badoo – Online dating network
- BigFishGames.com – Games for PC, Smartphones (iPhone, Android, Windows) and Mac
- Bitcoin.Travel – A travel site
- Bitcoincoffee.com – Buy your favorite coffee online
- Bloomberg.com – Online newspaper site
- Braintree – A popular payments processor
- CEX – A trade-in chain
- CheapAir.com – Travel booking site for airline tickets, car rentals, hotels, etc.
- Crowdtilt.com – Easiest way to pool funds with family and friends
- Dell – A multinational computer technology company
- Dish Network – American direct-broadcast satellite service provider
- Dream Lover – Online relationship service
- EZTV – Torrents TV shows provider
- Etsy Vendors – Original Art and Jewelry creations
- Euro Pacific – A metal dealer
- Expedia.com – Online travel booking agency
- ExpressVPN.com – High speed, ultra-secure VPN network
- Famsa – A Mexican retailer
- Fancy.com – Discover amazing stuff, collect the things you love, buy it all in one place
- Fight for the Future – Leading organization finding for Internet freedom
- Fiverr.com – Get almost anything done for just $5
- Foodler – North American restaurant delivery company
- Grass Hill Alpacas – A local farm in Haydenville, MA
- Green Man Gaming – A popular digital game reseller
- Grooveshark – Online music streaming service
- Gyft – Buy gift cards using Bitcoin
- Helen’s Pizza – Jersey City, N.J., you can get a slice of pizza for 0.00339 bitcoin
- Home Depot – Office supplies store
- Humblebundle.com – An indie game site
- Intuit – an American software company that develops financial and tax preparation software
- Jeffersons Store – A streetwear clothing store in Bergenfield, N.J
- Kmart – Retail products store
- LOT Polish Airlines – A worldwide airline, based in Poland
- Lumfile – Free cloud base file server
- Lv.net – Las Vegas high-speed internet service
- MIT Coop Store – Massachusetts Institute of Technology student bookstore
- Mega.co.nz – The new venture started by the former owner of MegaUpload Kim Dotcom
- Mexico’s Universidad de las Américas Puebla – A major university in Mexico
- Microsoft – Users can buy content with Bitcoin on Xbox and Windows Store
- Mint.com – Mint pulls all your financial accounts into one place.
- MovieTickets.com – Online movie ticket exchange/retailer
- Museum of the Coastal Bend – 2200 East Red River Street, Victoria, Texas 77901, USA
- NCR Silver – Point of sales systems
- Namecheap – Domain name registrar
- Newegg.com – Online electronics retailer now uses bitpay to accept bitcoin as payment
- OkCupid – Online dating site
- Old Fitzroy – A pub in Sydney, Australia The Pink Cow – A diner in Tokyo, Japan
- One Shot Hotels – Spanish hotel chain
- Overstock.com – A company that sells big-ticket items at lower prices due to overstocking
- PSP Mollie – Dutch Payment Service
- Pembury Tavern – A pub in London, England
- PizzaForCoins.com – Domino’s Pizza signed up – pay for their pizza with bitcoins
- PureVPN – VPN provider
- RE/MAX London – a UK-based franchisee of the global real estate network
- Rakuten – A Japanese e-commerce giant
- Reddit – You can buy premium features there with bitcoins
- SFU bookstore – Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, Canada
- San Jose Earthquakes – San Jose California Professional Soccer Team (MLS)
- Save the Children – A Global charity organization
- Sears – Clothing and household products, electronic store
- Seoclerks.com – An SEO service provider
- ShopJoy – An Australian online retailer that sells novelty and unique gifts
- Shopify.com – An online store that allows anyone to sell their products
- SimplePay – Nigeria’s most popular web and mobile-based wallet service
- Square – A payment processor that help small businesses accept credit cards using iPhone, Android or iPad
- Straub Auto Repairs – 477 Warburton Ave, Hastings-on-Hudson, NY 10706 – (914) 478–1177
- Stripe – San Francisco-based payments company
- Subway – Eat fresh
- Suntimes.com – Chicago-based online newspaper
- T-Mobile Poland – T-Mobile’s Poland-based mobile phone top-up company
- Tesla – The car company
- That’s my face – create action figures
- The Internet Archive – A web documentation company
- The Libertarian Party – United States political party
- The Pirate Bay – BitTorrent directories
- TigerDirect – Major electronic online retailer
- Virgin Galactic – Richard Branson company that includes Virgin Mobile and Virgin Airline
- WebJet – Online travel agency
- Whole Foods – An organic food store (by purchasing a gift card from Gyft)
- Wikipedia – The Free Encyclopedia with 4 570 000+ article Steam – Desktop gaming platform
- WordPress.com – An online company that allows the user to create free blogs
- Yacht-base.com – Croatian yacht charter company
- Zynga – Mobile gaming
Where You Can Buy Bitcoins
If you are planning to buy Bitcoins, it is very important to select a trusted Bitcoin exchange. You can spend the real-world money and get the Bitcoins equivalent. Later when the price of the Bitcoin rise, you can sell it on the same site for better rates.
But currently, we do not recommend doing so, because the Bitcoin rates are at its highest. So, it is better to wait for the price to drop a little. If you are confident enough in investing in Bitcoins, you can use any of these trusted Bitcoin exchanges.
Bitcoin Advantages and Disadvantages
Like any other cryptocurrencies, the Bitcoin also has a number of advantages and disadvantages. We listed some most important ones out of them to make you aware of the benefits and risks of buying Bitcoins.
Pros of Bitcoins
- Huge rise in the value within a matter of days
- There are no huge fees or third parties between the users
- Numerous companies accepting Bitcoins when compared to the early days
- Bitcoin is a completely transparent system
- Very secure transactions
- Can be used 24×7
Cons of Bitcoins
- There is no hard form of money or gold which represents your Bitcoins
- It can be hacked any time like any other digital systems
- Rapid change in the values
- The country rules may change, and the cryptocurrencies may get banned like in Iceland and Vietnam
Should you Buy Bitcoins Right Now?
It is completely up to you. Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency which keeps changing the value rapidly at huge rates. When compared to the previous year, within a matter of few months, the price increased more than 300%.
It is the most important thing to look after. The rates keep changing rapidly month to month. You can see the Bitcoin rates from this link. As you can see, it is changing rapidly over time. We can expect a huge drop overnight as well as the increase.
As the price is at its all-time best, it may not be a good idea to go for Bitcoins at least at this time. So, we recommend you to wait until the price drops. If you feel confident, you can also invest some money in Bitcoins.
You can alternatively read our recent article on is now the right time to buy Bitcoin to get a better idea.