Virtually any product or service that can be purchased in dollars or other currencies can also be purchased in bitcoins. On the other hand, the high volatility of bitcoin is a huge risk for some people who might want to use this cryptocurrency but are afraid of the price difference. Nevertheless, the characteristics of bitcoin make them perfect for online payments:
1. Fast transactions
Bitcoin transactions are processed in 10-15 minutes. In the case of a bank transfer, it can take hours or even days for money to arrive from one account to another. Some might say that PayPal or other electronic wallets are even faster. It is true, but there are other aspects that e-wallets cannot provide: privacy and lower commissions.
2. Privacy
When you send bitcoin to an online partner, the transaction will be registered in the blockchain. The list of transactions is public and can be checked on specialized websites. Only ID number, sum and time are recorded. There is no way anyone can find out where bitcoins come from and where they go. This feature of bitcoin has attracted many people. Well, some of them are interested because they can buy illegal goods with them, but most bitcoin users are people who want to buy legal items and services, but do not want to reveal their identity. Pornographic sites and gambling sites may be immoral, but they are not illegal, so people who want to subscribe to these services can safely pay for bitcoins on websites that accept this currency, knowing that it will not affect their reputation.
3. Lower commissions
The average commission is 0.002 BTC per transaction. It is significantly lower compared to PayPal or bank fees. Moreover, you are not even obliged to pay it. By paying a commission, you “reserve” the computing power of the pool (or at least part of it) in order to process your transaction faster. You even have the option of not paying a commission. In this case, you may have to wait two or even three days for your transaction to be processed. If you are not in a hurry, this could be the perfect opportunity to conduct money transactions at no cost.
Of course, there are disadvantages to using bitcoin, such as the possibility of losing it. If someone steals your bitcoins, or if you delete your wallet files, it is impossible to recover them. Until bitcoin is regulated, there is no central organism for arbitrage between different parts. In other words, you can’t complain if you lose or are robbed by bitcoins, simply because you have no one to complain to.