The Bitcoin cryptocurrency has gained some popularity since it first emerged in the technological world.
It is the only known cryptocurrency that has been able to rise in great value over the years, making some people who invested in it rich along the line.
People who bought and held the cryptocurrency are now having e-wallets worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Some of these are even in the millions, depending on how much Bitcoin the person bought and held onto.
Up to today, there are people still investing in cryptocurrency. If you are one of those who have now heard about the Bitcoin cryptocurrency and you feel like investing in it as well, there are some things that you need to know before you can go ahead with it. I am going to brief you on some of the most important things you must know.
What Is Bitcoin?Â
Simply put, Bitcoin is a digital currency that is not seen physically but can be used to transact business.
Security
All cryptocurrencies are kept in a digital wallet known as the E-wallet. Bitcoin makes it easy to carry out some transactions, but that comes along with security concerns.
Extra care must be taken when holding Bitcoins. You must make sure that your wallet is secure at all times.
You can store your bitcoins in an online wallet. However, I advise that you hold it in an e-wallet app on your phone.
Several e-wallet apps can be downloaded from the play store to keep your bitcoins in. In this way, you can always keep an eye on your bitcoins.
You should also have a lock on the e-wallet app to support people who take from their phone from snooping around the bitcoin. Giving your smartphone to people is not even advisable in the first place. Â
PricesÂ
The prices of bitcoin are volatile. This means that the cost can be up today and then suddenly go down the next day due to how young its economy is.
It is not recommended to keep your savings with Bitcoin as the cryptocurrency should be viewed as an asset with high risk.
Storing money that certainly cannot afford to lose in Bitcoin is a big NO. Service providers allow you to cash your Bitcoin value into paper money when you receive the Bitcoin in your wallet.Â
Payments
Payments that you make with Bitcoin cannot be reversed. The only way Bitcoin payment can be changed is if the one you transacted with agrees to send it back to you.
This means that you must only do business with people or companies that you can trust. Companies must also keep track of the payment requests they display to their customers.
Bitcoin itself can detect typos, and this helps to prevent you from sending Bitcoin to the wrong address. However, you must still make sure that you control all your transactions and have all safety features in place.Â
Anonymous
You must be able to protect your privacy with Bitcoin since it is not anonymous. Bitcoins transactions are stored on a network permanently.
This means that people can see the balance and transactions of any Bitcoin address except the identity of the user behind the address. It is therefore advisable to use your Bitcoin address only once.
Experimental
The bitcoin cryptocurrency is still in the experimental stages, although some people have made fortunes out of them.
The cryptocurrency gets more appealing with each improvement. You are bound to encounter growing fees and slower confirmations or some more severe issues with it.
Always make sure to be prepared for anything that can happen and seek the help of an expert before going about any problems or making any transactions or significant investments with Bitcoin.
However, you must also bear in mind all the time that nobody can predict the future.
Taxes And Regulations
Because Bitcoin is not an official currency, government taxes and regulations do not affect it.
However, there are places where you will be required to pay some tax on Bitcoin usage since anything that has value is taxed, although this is not happening in Ghana because Bitcoin is not that high.
If you know that you have to pay any tax on Bitcoin usage, it is your responsibility to adhere to such regulations as good citizens to avoid any problems with the law. Â
Conclusion
Bitcoin is undoubtedly here to stay, and it is possibly an excellent medium to transact business.
However, you must make sure that you know all that you need to know before proceeding to use and invest in cryptocurrency. You should also make sure to transact with only people that can be trusted.Â
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