Bitcoin is not a fraud or scam, those that claim that are just talking rubbish about something they probably do not understand. It is a form of digital currency and as such, it can get into the hands of fraudsters and scam artists, just as any other currency can. The fact that someone can lose money in a scam doesn’t mean the money itself is a scam. The fact is that Bitcoin transactions are more secure and transparent than cash, and as a result, it is less likely to be used during the commission of a crime.
Bitcoins’ rise in popularity has led some investors to speculate in trading bitcoin just as they speculate in the changing values of other currencies. This has led to an even more rapid acceptance of Bitcoins as it provides for more ways and market places to exchange the digital currency for any other currency you prefer.
Worldwide acceptance of Bitcoin is rapidly growing and isn’t likely to cease anytime soon, IMHO. Bitcoin payments offer the advantage of a more secure transaction at a tiny (nearly free) cost per transaction. It is certainly less risky than accepting credit card payments.
Most online merchants that accept Bitcoins will instantly transfer the payment from Bitcoin to their preferred currency, even before the online transaction is completed. And the is no such thing as a chargeback on Bitcoin payments like there is with credit cards. As I said it is the transaction method that offers the least risk of any other alternative payment method.
Here is a short partial list of some of the online retailers that now accept Bitcoin payments:
Overstock.com
Newegg.com
Tigerdirect.com
Zynga.com
Expedia.com
DigitalRiver.com
Dell.com
1800flowers.com
Coinbase has signed up 35,000 merchants that now accept bitcoin
Bitpay has signed up 40,000 merchants now accepting bitcoin
eBay Is Considering Integrating Bitcoin Into PayPal
It’s still early days for Bitcoin, but it already reminds me of the days when people use to think you were crazy to think people would ever buy things over that temporary fad called the World Wide Web, and startups like Amazon.com would never make a penny on the web. I cannot predict the future, but I was pretty sure the web was more than just a temporary fad that would go away when people got bored of it, and I’m pretty sure that digital currency isn’t a fad that will go away anytime soon either.
