Alternative to fiat money(or not).

The Bitcoin protocol has been around for over 8 years, but its popularization and practical uses as an alternative to traditional currencies issued by central banks only began to gain momentum from mid 2013.

Although the bitcoin be increasingly under the media spotlight, often being classified as "money from the Internet" or "future money", the technology still has a long way to go with major obstacles to be overcome until the daily use becomes more widespread. Even with increased media exposure, the bitcoin continues to have a low adoption rate, mainly attributed to lack of knowledge and confidence in the operation of the technology. Although increasing, considering the number of transactions and created portfolios, digital currencies follow as a niche phenomenon, basically composed of high-income men, closely linked to technology and often sympathetic to libertarian ideas.

Many questions still remain among the most ordinary people. Among investors in the financial market are so many paradigms broken by bitcoin operating logic, that most of the financiers even understand indeed the impact of the creation of Satoshi Nakamoto. On the other hand, the growing concerns about the global financial system health have caused a growing number of new stakeholders have sought the bitcoin as an alternative to crisis scenarios, as we have seen in 2015 with the instability in Greece and more recently with the decision by Brexit.

The growing Chinese demand is also due to macroeconomic factors, which you can see in detail in this post here.

A higher form of money.

To understand why the bitcoin combines the characteristics to effectively convert as a superior form of money, we need to clarify how the current financial and banking work. The traditional banking system is governed under centralized way, it means that all users and participants depend on an agent that monitors, validates and processes transactions, causing financial institutions are responsible for clients' money.

Moreover, the consensus now among investors is that the central banks of the major economies in the world today are the main risk agent market with their expansionary monetary policies and abundant credit tested to the limit and with dire consequences on the horizon. The operation of the bitcoin has an opposite operation to this logic, based on a decentralized network, transparent and able to allow users to have full control over its resources, without any interference from third parties.

By not taking the necessary precautions with regard to store your securely bitcoins, the risk we run of losing their currencies by a hacker attack, but other cases of fraud with credit cards, steal bitcoins a portfolio it is not as easy as discover personal information and the number of a person's card card.

On the other hand, the irreversible nature of bitcoin transactions usually a cause for concern. In the case of a commercial transaction paid in bitcoin in which the buyer is not satisfied or have not received the product, there is the possibility to force a refund or cancellation of the transaction, as the credit card.

As a means of payment, bitcoin is an alternative much safer and superior in terms of privacy, since no personal information needs to be exchanged between buyer and seller, as well as a sale paid in paper money.

 The current market value

Market developments and recent advances in technology have pointed out various solutions to reduce the resistance against the bitcoin and increase the number of new users.

In addition to the evolution of the usability of the main bitcoin wallets available services such as debit cards with instant conversion at the time of each purchase using the balance of the linked bitcoin wallet, are the main focus to increase the use of digital currency.

Uncertainties related to the stagnation of the world's major economies, the limits of monetary policies and the risks of a major financial crisis due to the various types of asset bubble burst tend to further strengthen the unique characteristics of bitcoin.

Considering the total amount of money available in the world, the current market value of bitcoin, around US $ 9.2 billion, seems negligible.