In the year 2007, a persona going by the name Satoshi Nakamoto began working on a “peer-to-peer electronic payment system.” Though he is said to reside in Japan, many speculate that Nakamoto is actually not one man at all but rather a pseudonym for a group of people.
Less than a year later, on August 15, 2008, three individuals – Neal Kin, Vladimir Oksman and Charles Bry – filed an encrypted patent, denying any connection to Nakamoto. Three days later, the domain name Bitcoin.org is anonymously registered and the world’s first decentralized cryptocurrency was born.
Since then, hundreds of cyber currencies have popped up all over the web as developers seek to capitalize on the success of the bitcoin. In fact, at last count there were more than 530 cryptocurrencies available for trade in online markets as of January 2015 and more than 740 overall.
However, only a handful have market caps over 10 million:
- Bitcoin ($3,158,237,178)
- Ripple ($252,830,918)
- Litecoin ($53,893,032)
- Dash ($14,413,634)
- Stellar ($12,995,587)
- BitShares ($11,724,987)
- Dogecoin ($10,549,997)
- MaidSafeCoin ($10,194,693)
Though the bitcoin still dominates the cryptocurrency world, prices have been steadily declining since its peak in December 2013, when market shares reached an all-time-high of USD $1124.76 per bitcoin. As of Friday, April 20, the bitcoin rested at $225.
What is cryptocurrency?
According to CryptoCoinNews:
A cryptocurrency is a medium of exchange like normal currencies such as USD, but designed for the purpose of exchanging digital information through a process made possible by certain principles of cryptography… Put another way, cryptocurrency is electricity converted into lines of code with monetary value. In the simplest of forms, cryptocurrency is digital currency.
Cryptography is the complicated process in which digital currency is “mined,” and involves significant time, computing power and specialized open-source software.
Watch this video to learn more about bitcoin mining:
Will digital currency survive?
Whether the bitcoin and other cyber currencies last long-term remains to be seen. Undoubtedly, the future of cryptocurrency will be determined in the years ahead. Regardless, for now, investors can use this new form of currency to purchase physical precious metals like gold and silver – the oldest forms of currency on Earth and the best long-term investment around.
Provident Metals now accepts Bitcoin, Dogecoin and Litecoin for payment on all products found in our online store, including gold bullion, silver bars and coins and more.
When the Dogecoin community began asking for the option to buy precious metals with their preferred digital currency, the company realized that, “… it was time for us to recognize the effect cryptocurrencies are having on the marketplace,” said Provident Metals COO, Jake Haugen.
To learn more about using cryptocurrency to buy gold and silver bullion, feel free to contact us or browse our site.
Do you think cryptocurrencies like the bitcoin are just a fad or here to stay?
Let us know in the comments below or by visiting us on Facebook and Twitter.
