One of the most trending happenings right now is the drastic rise of the Bitcoin. While it might be increasingly in popularity, studies have shown that less than 2 percent of the world's population has BTC or even know about digital currency.
One of the major reasons for the relatively low acceptance of Bitcoin and other forms of digital currencies is the myths surrounding BTC. Some of these myths have been debunked and they are highlighted below.
- Bitcoin is worthless. A common myth attributed to Bitcoins is that they are worthless because they are not supported by anything. The truth is that value is determined subjectively, value is obtained by the fact that it is given. Bitcoin is a good example of the subjective nature of value, because it shows how we, collectively with Bitcoins, give the value of money collectively to the currency.
- Bitcoin is just a big pyramid scheme. The basis of a pyramid scheme lies in the fact that there is one main company or organization that promises its investors a guaranteed profit. But because Bitcoin does not have an authoritative body to make such promises, and after all it is a peer-to-peer based cryptocurrency, there is no basis for claiming that it is only a pyramid scheme.
- Bitcoins makes criminal activities possible. Criminal transactions on websites such as the Silk Road have given Bitcoin a bad reputation as a means of supporting criminal activities. It is true that people abuse the anonymous nature of BitCoins to sponsor criminal acts, but the truth is that criminals also use all other forms of payments to do so. The fact that a certain form of payment is used in the context of an illegal activity does not mean that the currency has a criminal character.
- Bitcoin mining is bad for the environment. Recently, an article in the journal Bloomberg claimed that Bitcoin mines consume so much energy that it is harmful to the environment. But in fact, if we compare the amount of energy used in other industries, let's say when printing and distributing fiat currencies that Bitcoin mining saves my energy.
- Bitcoins can not be used. This misconception stems from the fact that the Bitcoin is relatively new and can not be widely used on the internet as a payment method. But the truth is that every day you can find more and more marketplaces online and offline where you can use BitCoins. A good example of how you can use BitCoins in your daily life can be seen in Forbes' Kashmir Hill's article series "Living on Bitcoin for a Week".