Anyone who owns bitcoin will soon be able to receive a new cryptocurrency.

As of block 491,407 on the bitcoin blockchain, another alternative version of the protocol will be launched, resulting in a variant that's being branded bitcoin gold (BTG).

The project, which seeks to improve bitcoin's technology by changing how its competition for rewards is conducted, is the second to launch since August via an increasingly common process called a "hard fork."

Readers may remember the term from the launch of bitcoin cash, the alternative version of the bitcoin protocol that spurred global headlines for unexpectedly creating billions of dollars in value, seemingly out of thin air.

Looking ahead, many industry observers are expecting the same results this time around, though there may be reasons for enthusiasm to be tempered.

What is bitcoin gold?

In short, bitcoin gold aims to achieve two goals:

    First, bitcoin gold wants to change how mining works by making it so the most powerful mining machines (called ASICs) can no longer be used.
    Second, by attracting more people to this system over time, it hopes to free the bitcoin network from the large companies that offer these products, and it argues, command undue influence on the network.

Instead of scaling bitcoin to support more users, bitcoin gold tweaks bitcoin in an effort to "make bitcoin decentralized again." This, proponents argue, will make the network, designed to offer an egalitarian way to send payments digitally around the globe, more accessible to users.

And while created via the same mechanism, bitcoin gold differs from bitcoin cash in a few ways, most notably in its distribution.

Differences include:

    The bitcoin gold cryptocurrency is set to be created in advance (prior to the code being open-sourced to the public).
    About 1 percent of the total cryptocurrency tokens mined before the blockchain goes public will be used to pay the bitcoin gold development team.
    Once this distribution is over, the team claims it will launch the cryptocurrency so that users can redeem their coins.

Of course, while it aims to become the de-facto version of bitcoin, others might consider bitcoin gold an "altcoin" – the term has long been used to denote any cryptocurrency launched using bitcoin’s existing code, but that has an alternative market or use case.

Do I have bitcoin gold?

All bitcoin owners will receive the cryptocurrency at a rate of 1 BTC to 1 BTG, setting the stage for possible market activity.

But, that's not to say it's totally intuitive to retrieve.

One quirk is that it'll be easier to redeem the funds from wallets or exchanges that recognize the cryptocurrency. The easiest way, then, to retrieve the bitcoin gold is to move bitcoin to a wallet or exchange that supports bitcoin gold, or to hold bitcoin in a wallet where you own your private keys (rather than holding them with an exchange).

To date, 20 exchanges and wallets promise to support bitcoin gold once it launches, according to the project's website.

Although one of the most popular U.S.-based exchanges, Coinbase stated on October 20 that it does not support bitcoin gold due to skepticism about how developers have made project information available to others.

"At this time, Coinbase cannot support bitcoin gold because its developers have not made the code available to the public for review. This is a major security risk,” the post reads.

This is perhaps something to keep an eye on as the project progresses. Although the project will officially fork on Monday night, it's not yet open to anyone and everyone, and there’s still plenty left on the developers' to-do list.

Who is behind bitcoin gold?

The team behind the hard fork appears to be a relatively small group.

Hong Kong-based LightningAsic CEO Jack Liao, who's an outspoken critic of the state of bitcoin mining, first broached the idea of bitcoin gold back in July.

His company LightningAsic sells mining equipment, including GPUs, the type of computing hardware bitcoin gold is supposed to rely on.

Since first introduced earlier this summer, the team has expanded to include pseudonymous lead developer h4x3rotab, as well as a team of five other volunteers who are now working on developing and promoting the cryptocurrency in their spare time.

The project can be tracked on Github and on the community Slack group.

How do people feel about bitcoin gold?

All that said, for those interested in exploring or using bitcoin gold, it's worth noting that it has generated its share of controversy.

Satoshi Labs CEO Marek Palatinus, who launched bitcoin's first ever mining pool, is skeptical the project will actually work to decentralize mining as planned.

And he's not the only one to throw shade at the new project.

Bitcoin developer Rhett Creighton is working on alternative bitcoin gold "protest fork" software that seeks to pursue the same idea but without setting aside some of the new cryptocurrency for development.

If more than 51% of miners choose to use his software, the so-called pre-distribution to developers will be erased, he told CoinDesk. "It's up to the miners to decide what they want," he added.

All in all, it's unclear if business and mining groups will ultimately support the project, and if they do, how much value the alternative blockchain could create.

For example, while a list of roughly 50 businesses and miners support the so-called Segwit2x fork, similar support hasn't been seen for bitcoin gold. Likewise, though bitcoin cash began with support from vocal miners and exchanges, bitcoin gold has arguably yet to benefit from such early activity.



Source: https://www.coindesk.com/bitcoin-gold-know-blockchains-next-split/

My only regret about bitcoins is i never took it so serious. I first came across bitcoin the time when bitcoin price was very, very cheap. I wish there is a way to go back in time to buy more bitcoins but unfortunately not. Perhaps I may think on saving more bitcoins in the future rather than wasting my time thinking about the past which may lead to nothing but prostration. I believe now is time to think for the future, plan for it and save more bitcoins for it.

Yes, but you may also try Yobit, Binance or Poloniex you might find one that is still accepting bitcoin among these few exchanges.

Bitcoin is both digital currency and an asset. Bitcoin was originally invented as a peer to peer electronic currency. Due to the high demand of bitcoin, the value of bitcoin started growing in an exponential rate and before you know people everywhere in the world started buying bitcoins as an asset to sell later for profits when the value increases. Bitcoin is getting more popular everyday because people are buying bitcoins and selling for profits a very good one, indeed!

I don't think bitcoin will ever replace banks because government pay salaries, loans and contracts through banks. Banks control fiat circulations and savings by the general public. I think both bitcoin and banks have different roles to play in the future. I think bitcoin will rather make banks less important in the future than they are right now, because bitcoin is purely digital, fast, secure and decentralized. Bitcoin is acceptable worldwide while local currencies are not. 

Bitcoin is sucking the money out of altcoins due to regular hard forks that gives people free money from the new forked coin e.g. Bitcoin Gold (BTG). Bitcoin value will continue to grow regardless of that people say or what China or Russia does. Investors put their money into bitcoin whenever they hear any news regarding a chain-split of the original bitcoin because they know they can make a lot of money off the bitcoin due to the hard fork that may lead to creating another altcoin - which they may get it for free after the successful chain-split.

Believe so myself. Some countries don't allow the use of bitcoins and majority allows it. About 90% of the developed countries legalized the use of bitcoin while about 20% of the developing countries are trying to ban bitcoin because they don't fully understand the concept of bitcoin. Yet majority of the under-developed countries don't even know what is bitcoin, how it works or even how it operate. Bitcoin is endorsed by top economies of the world such as U.S and Japan - so what more people want ? the answer to your question might depend on your country on bitcoin legalization.

There are so many great altcoins out there better than bitcoin. I don't think if bitcoin dies all the rest of altcoins will die too.
Some altcoins have better security, anonymity, and transaction speed than bitcoin as well as cheaper transactions too.

The fear of taking a risk is very risky. If you are always afraid of taking a risk then you will never make anything good for yourself. If you are afraid of losing all your money on bitcoin investment then why not do 50-50 of your total asset? For me, I always go with all of my assets. I'm still young, so what if I lose all of my money? I can still start over in no any time and make something for myself. I just have to be right one time and retired for life.

Not all bitcoin exchanges will support bitcoin gold BTG!
Bitcoin exchanges and wallets such as Luno, Xapo, and Blockchain.info will not support BTG for now.
The bitcoin exchanges that will support Bitcoin Gold (BTG) for now are HitBTC, Bittrex, Poloniex, Binance, and Yobit exchanges.

My biggest regret about bitcoin is I never took bitcoin too serious some years back.
I though bitcoin is going to be something that will come and go just like video games coins.
And I finally, used all my saved bitcoin for mining contract which turns out to be the biggest waste of my time and money.

Bitcoin is both digital currency and asset. Bitcoin was originally created as a digital currency that is fast, secure, and decentralized. Bitcoin is peer to peer electronic currency that can be use globally without borders, boundaries or regulations whatsoever. Bitcoin is better than traditional fiat because it's digital, fast, secure, cheaper transaction fees and acceptable worldwide. With bitcoin, sky is only a starting point.  

Bitcoin Price Lingers Below $6k As Post-Fork Altcoin Rally Expected



Bitcoin prices were back below $6,000 Monday amid talk of an imminent altcoin rally to shelve protracted losses.

Bitcoin’s honeymoon above the latest significant barrier remained chequered over the weekend as momentum appeared to cool.

After recrossing $6,000 several times, rates on the majority of exchanges were settling around $5,800 at press time with some volatility.


Chart: The move downwards has so far failed to breathe new life in altcoin markets, which have seen little by way of recovery or more in recent weeks.

As Bitcoin climbed from $5,000, investors broadly opted to continue stockpiling the virtual currency ahead of the two hard forks due Tuesday and Nov. 18.

Following the network snapshot for the first of the forks, Bitcoin Gold, money could quickly flow back into altcoins, traders are suggesting.

    I reckon there would be some altcoin mini rally after the BTC gold snapshot in ~22 hours
    — Squeeze (@cryptoSqueeze) October 23, 2017

A repeat of the phenomenon could occur next month, when SegWit2x - a much more highly debated hard fork - comes into being.

Bitcoin Gold meanwhile, having remained largely undebated, is now receiving mixed reviews as exchanges and other parties give notice of their position.

    Can't wait for #Bitcoin Silver, Bitcoin Platinum and Bitcoin Palladium.
    — WhalePanda (@WhalePanda) October 23, 2017

Bittrex has said it will credit users with equivalent Bitcoin Gold (BTG) balances while warning against the fork’s technological limitations. Others such as hardware wallet TREZOR have said tech improvements are necessary before support will be introduced.

A lack of replay protection is a particular aspect of both hard forks receiving attention from industry businesses reluctant to interact with new chains and credit users with coins where applicable.


Source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/bitcoin-price-lingers-below-6k-as-post-fork-altcoin-rally-expected

Why Investors are Going All-In on Bitcoin: Major Japanese Crypto Exchange CEO



Yuzo Kano, the CEO at Bitflyer, Japan’s largest cryptocurrency exchange with over 800,000 active users, explained how conservative Japanese investors have started to “go all-in” on Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies.

The vast majority of investors in Japan, South Korea, and China are extremely conservative with their investments and skeptical toward allocating capital to new asset classes. But, over the past three years, Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies have become mainstream assets in the Japanese market and consequently, Japan has evolved into the largest Bitcoin exchange market ahead of the US.

Currently the Japanese Bitcoin exchange market accounts for 61.23 percent of global Bitcoin trades, more than twice of the trading volume of the US market.

Investors ready

In an interview with The New York Times, Kano explained that upon the legalization of Bitcoin as a digital currency and the authorization of cryptocurrency exchanges by the Financial Services Agency (FSA), conservative Japanese investors have started to “go all-in” on Bitcoin and cryptocurrency investments.

Kano stated:

    “Japanese people tend to be very conservative with their investments, but once they get triggered they go all in.”

A similar trend has emerged in South Korea, as Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies have become the norm. Tony Lyu, the founder and chief executive of Korbit, the South Korean cryptocurrency exchange that was acquired by the $10 billion gaming company Nexon at a $140 million valuation, explained:

    “Word just spreads really fast in Korea. Once people are invested, they want everyone else to join the party. There’s been this huge, almost a community movement around this.”

In consideration of the rapid growth rate of the Japanese and South Korean Bitcoin markets, prominent investors and analysts including Tuur Demeester have noted that the mid-term trend of the Bitcoin price would likely depend on the performance of two markets.

Already, high profile, institutional, and retail traders have started to engage in Bitcoin and cryptocurrency trading. Companies like BitFlyer and Korbit, that are backed by multi-billion dollar investment firms and technology conglomerates, will continue to develop necessary infrastructures for large-scale investors and provide sufficient liquidity for retail traders.

Services to traders

Particularly, the demand for Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in South Korea is increasing exponentially due to the emergence of offline exchanges and in-person customer service for investors and traders exploring the cryptocurrency market. At the CoinoneBlocks offline exchange in South Korea, beginner and casual traders can purchase Bitcoin through offline methods such as ATMs and USB drives.

The New York Times has also revealed the in-person customer service of Korbit, which provides services to traders and investors that are not familiar with cryptocurrencies. Investors can receive assistance in creating wallets and accounts on trading platforms.



Source: https://www.cointelegraph.com/news/why-investors-are-going-all-in-on-bitcoin-major-japanese-crypto-exchange-ceo

Former Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke Believes Bitcoin Unlikely to Succeed



Ben Bernanke, the former Chairman of the Federal Reserve, made his views against Bitcoin clear at a conference organized by Ripple in Toronto.

Undermining the Government not a Recipe For Success

Echoing the views of J.P. Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon, Bernanke feels that the decentralized nature of Bitcoin, which puts it outside government control, will trigger its downfall. Speaking at Swell, a three day conference organized by Ripple in Toronto, Bernanke said:

    “Bitcoin is an attempt to replace fiat currency and evade regulation and government intervention. I don’t think that’s going to be a success.”

He attributed the current run up in price of Bitcoin to its speculative nature and felt that Bitcoin hasn't proven itself as a transactional currency. In his opinion the government will eventually step in to prevent Bitcoin from rivalling fiat currency.

Blockchain, not Bitcoin

While dismissing the possibility of Bitcoin becoming a successful alternative to fiat currency, Bernanke was all praise for the Blockchain. As reported by Fortune, Bernanke said:

    "The Fed, the Bank of England, and Japan are very supportive of these technologies because they’ll improve payment systems."

He praised Ripple for working with regulators and observed that a Blockchain-based system might have prevented hackers from robbing $80 mln from the Central Bank of Bangladesh.

Flip Flop Views on Bitcoin

Ben Bernanke's views on Bitcoin have changed over the years. In 2013, during a Senate Committee hearing, he called virtual currencies 'innovative payment systems' and said that the Fed had no plan to regulate them. In 2015, he said that Bitcoin's volatility and anonymous nature were serious problems. The market however, seems to be ignoring Bernanke and Dimon's views on Bitcoin and pushing it to scale ever higher peaks.


Source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/former-fed-chairman-ben-bernanke-believes-bitcoin-unlikely-to-succeed

$25,000 Bitcoin Price Prediction is ‘Conservative’: Wall Street Strategist

FundStrat Global Advisor co-founder Tom Lee turned heads when he first predicted that the bitcoin price could reach $25,000 by 2022, but he has maintained this bullish stance even amid the severe downturn that immediately followed China’s ban on initial coin offerings and bitcoin exchanges.


One-Year Bitcoin Price Chart from Coinbase

In the first episode of Business Insider’s web segment “the bit”, Lee explained his methodology in arriving at the $25,000 number — which he says is a conservative estimate. He revealed that FundStrat values bitcoin similarly to how it would value a social network — using a principle known as Metcalfe’s law. He says that, according to Metcalfe’s law, the value of a network is the square number of its users:

    “And so if you build a very simple model valuing bitcoin as the square function number of users times the average transaction value. 94% of the bitcoin moved over the past four years is explained by that equation,” Lee explains.

He adds that, in the digital age, “personal information is our gold”, and because bitcoin is essentially a database with an unprecedented level of security, it is digital gold. He uses this comparison quite literally; he expects that younger investors who have never known a world without the internet will increasingly use bitcoin as a store of value in place of precious metals, as their parents and grandparents did:

    “And if personal information is our gold, bitcoin is our digital gold. So we think that the gold market, which is 9 trillion, and for a generation of investors gold was their store of value. I think this next generation of young people view bitcoin as their store of value.”

He estimates that if bitcoin captures 5% of the gold market, it should achieve a fair market value of $25,000. “It’s actually the most conservative collection of elements to get to [that number],” he asserts, as it ignores inflation and assumes that investors will hold a smaller percentage of alternative currencies in their blended portfolios than most cryptocurrency investors currently do.

    “You could easily get to $100,000, $200,00 numbers,” he adds, stating elsewhere that, “I think you can easily see a liquidity-based move in bitcoin that’s much beyond our target prices” if institutional investors enter the crypto markets.

Indeed, hedge fund manager Mark Yusko — relying on similar analysis to that of Lee — believes there is a 75% chance that the bitcoin price will reach $500,000 within two decades and states that it could rise as high as $1 million.

For the short-term, meanwhile, Lee has set a mid-2018 bitcoin price target of $6,000 — a forecast that initially appeared optimistic but increasingly appears quite conservative.


Source: https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/25000-bitcoin-price-prediction-conservative-wall-street-strategist/

The cryptocurrency markets dipped below $170 billion on Monday, with traders expressing tepidity about a potential Japanese initial coin offering ban. Consequently, the ethereum price dropped below $290, and the majority of altcoins returned negative performance for the day. The bitcoin price, however, ticked up to $5,900, further solidifying its dominant hold on the markets.
 

Chart from CoinMarketCap

The total cryptocurrency market cap had been positioned near $175 billion late last week as bitcoin scaled the charts to reach $6,000 for the first time, but it ebbed over the course of the weekend, eventually reaching $170.6 billion on Sunday. The decline continued on Monday, bringing the combined value of all cryptocurrencies to a present mark of $168 billion.


Chart from CoinMarketCap

Bitcoin Price Holds at $5,900

The bitcoin price touched $6,200 on Saturday to set a new all-time high, but on Sunday it fell into decline, dipping as low as $5,795. On Monday, however, the bitcoin price experienced a slight uptick, bringing it back across the $5,900 threshold. At present, the bitcoin price is trading at a global average of $5,906, which translates into a market cap of $98.3 billion.


Bitcoin Price Chart from CoinMarketCap

Following last week’s rise to $6,000, many average investors are wondering if it is too late to invest in bitcoin. However, these same fears have kept investors on the sidelines at almost every stage of bitcoin’s growth, and yet the markets have continued to defy critics’ expectations. This is why even Mark Cuban — a long-time bitcoin skeptic — has begun advising “true adventurers” to allocate up to 10% of their investments in bitcoin and ethereum.

Ethereum Price Dips Below $290

The ethereum price continued its post-Byzantium decline on Monday, dipping below $290 for the first time in two weeks. At present, the ethereum price is trading at $288; this represents a 7-day decline of 15% and translates into a $27.4 billion market cap.


Ethereum Price Chart from CoinMarketCap

At present, much of the demand for ethereum is derived from investors who wish to participate in initial coin offerings (ICOs), which have recently surpassed a year-to-date fundraising total of $3 billion. As ICO contributions have increased, so has attention from regulators, and some industry observers expect that more nations — including bitcoin-friendly Japan — will follow China’s lead and ban the practice altogether. It’s likely that these fears are placing downward pressure on the ethereum price.

Altcoins Trend Down

Ethereum was joined in its decline by virtually every top-tier altcoin, although most of these pullbacks were minor.


Altcoin Price Chart from CoinMarketCap

The ripple price declined 3%, pushing its price below $0.200 and its market cap to just $7.6 billion. The bitcoin cash price dipped 2% and is now trading at $322. The litecoin price dropped 4%, which was enough to reduce its market cap to $2.9 billion, while dash’s 3% decline lowered its price to $269. The NEM and monero prices each dropped about 1%, while NEO posted a top 10-worst decline of 5%. Bitconnect, ranked eighth, was the lone top 10 altcoin to experience a single-day price increase; it is currently trading at $203, which represents an increase of about 1%.




Source: https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/bitcoin-price-holds-at-5900-as-ethereum-altcoins-contract/

Jamie Dimon told by CEO of start-up to ‘come down to earth and learn’ about cryptocurrencies


Jamie Dimon - Investors could get hurt by bitcoin: Wamda Capital CEO
 
JPMorgan boss Jamie Dimon has been told to learn some more about cryptocurrencies before making negative statements.

In recent weeks Dimon has derided digital currencies such as bitcoin as a "novelty" and claimed they are "worth nothing."

Now the head of a major Middle East-based tech investment firm said Monday that the banking boss needs to better educate himself about blockchain and cryptocurrencies.

"It is here to stay. Jamie Dimon need to recognize that before he talks about it from a fraudulent point of view," said Fadi Ghandour, CEO of Wamda Capital.

Ghandour added that traditional financial industry stands to gain a lot from the new era of fintech.

"Talk to them, understand them, find a way to regulate them. Let's not make big statements about something we don't understand."

"Be humble, calm down, come down to earth and learn," the investor added.

Ghandour said the founder of the Middle East's biggest cryptocurrency, BitOasis, gave a speech at the World Bank last week in a further sign of how the technology is being embraced.
'People could get hurt'

Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, hit a new record high on Saturday, and has seen a huge price rally year.

On the risk of a sudden crash, Ghandour said people should be left to take their own investment decisions.

"People could get hurt but also people are mature and can make their own decisions. If you want to be part of a bubble, you are part of a bubble. You understand the risk," Ghandour said.

The tech investor noted that when Silicon Valley tech stocks crashed after a rapid rise in value in the late 1990's, no one questioned the internet as an essential future platform.

Ghandour said his own firm might consider using an initial coin offering (ICO) as a method to either invest or raise capital.

"As a venture capital fund I am worried that the way we conduct our own business is being disrupted.

"ICOs are something to learn about, to see how you can embrace it and so that you are becoming part of it rather than thinking of it as something that is going to disrupt us," he said.



Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2017/10/23/jamie-dimon-told-to-learn-about-bitcoin-before-making-statements.html

Al-Waleed bin Talal, Saudi Prince, Saudi billionaire and founder of Kingdom Holding Co.


 "It just doesn't make sense. This thing is not regulated, it's not under control, it's not under the supervision" of any central bank, Alwaleed says.
  Bitcoin has surged about 500 percent this year.

Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal: Bitcoin will 'implode' one day 
 
Saudi billionaire investor Prince Alwaleed bin Talal said Monday that bitcoin will "implode" one day.

"It just doesn't make sense. This thing is not regulated, it's not under control, it's not under the supervision" of any central bank, Alwaleed said in an interview on CNBC's "Squawk Box."

"I just don't believe in this bitcoin thing. I think it's just going to implode one day. I think this is Enron in the making," Alwaleed said.

The billionaire investor was referring to the massive accounting fraud that took Enron, a U.S. energy-trading and utilities giant, into bankruptcy in late 2001.

Alwaleed runs Kingdom Holding, a massive conglomerate whose investments include Citigroup, Apple and Twitter. The company is based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Digital currency bitcoin has surged about 500 percent this year and hit an all-time high above $6,100 on Saturday. Bitcoin traded 2 percent lower around $5,847 Monday, according to CoinDesk.

Bitcoin has shaken off an August split into bitcoin and bitcoin cash, and a Chinese crackdown in September on digital coins.

The massive gains are fueled by growing interest from some institutional investors and Japanese investors. Trading in Japanese yen accounted for about 62 percent of total bitcoin trading volume Monday, according to industry website CryptoCompare. Trading in U.S. dollars accounted for roughly 21 percent, the site showed.

But most major investors remain skeptical of bitcoin.

Alwaleed said Monday he agrees with JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, who last month called bitcoin a "fraud" that will eventually blow up.

BlackRock CEO Larry Fink has also called the digital currency an "index of money laundering" for its ability to facilitate illegal commerce on the internet.

However, JPMorgan and other financial institutions are investing in blockchain, the technology that enables bitcoin to transfer value nearly instantly without a third-party intermediary.

The development of digital currencies has also spawned the growth of token sales, or initial coin offerings, which have taken off this year. The coin sales have raised $3.04 billion, according to financial research firm Autonomous Next.

Jordan Belfort, the infamous "Wolf of Wall Street" penny stock broker, told The Financial Times in an interview published Sunday that initial coin offerings are the "biggest scam ever."



Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2017/10/23/prince-alwaleed-says-bitcoin-will-implode-enron-in-the-making.html

First World Fat Cat Jamie Dimon Doesn’t Understand Poverty, Bashes Bitcoin



It’s said how little Jamie Dimon knows about the needs of people who live in the countries of South America, Central America, Africa and Asia.

Dimon keeps finding new ways to show his lack of understanding of Bitcoin, and of the economic realities of most of the world’s population. He recently said:

    “If it can be done digitally with the Blockchain, so be it. But it will still be a dollar cryptocurrency. What I have an issue with is a non-fiat cryptocurrency. So crypto sterling, euro, yen, they are all fine. I don't personally understand the value of something that has no actual value.“

Fat cats

For an American millionaire with a narrow view of the world, he may be right. But for the inhabitants of more than 170 countries that do not have strong fiat currencies like sterling, euro, yen or dollars, Bitcoin definitely has value. An example from Brazil clearly demonstrates the benefits of transacting internationally with Bitcoin.

Developing countries are often saddled by their governments with capital controls, to prevent money from leaving the country.

Cost savings

A Brazilian who buys a product from Amazon pays a 6.5% “IOF Tax” retained directly on his credit card. This tax is levied on any international purchase or remittance of securities. In addition, this user is at the mercy of the exchange rate that will be applied by the operator of the credit card. Combined, transactional costs can exceed 10% of the purchase price, and that’s not even considering the import taxes that must be paid.

Now imagine a Brazilian who has decided to study the magnificent world of Blockchain and needs to buy a $100 item from Amazon. This person can use one of several Bitcoin-based websites to get a 15% discount on his purchase. Thus a $100 purchase, instead of costing $110 as it would by using his credit card, actually only cost $85. That’s a huge savings.

 Does Bitcoin have any value to the mega-rich like Dimon? Probably not. But in the developing world, where a few dollars can literally make the difference between feast and famine, Bitcoin has real value.


Source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/first-world-fat-cat-jamie-dimon-doesnt-understand-poverty-bashes-bitcoin