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Bitcoin : Is Bitcoin Money?

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Is Bitcoin Money?

Cryptocurrencies, are digital assets that are secured by means of cryptography. These forms of virtual currencies have been around since the late eighties (Grigg, n.d., par. 2) with more than 600 traded cryptocurrencies on the market today (Coinmarketcap.com, n.d.). Of these, Bitcoin in the largest (White, 2015) and most widely traded. Unlike traditional money that is controlled by a central bank and backed by a government, Bitcoin is transferred from person to person through peer-to-peer interface. There is no intermediary required such as with Visa; rather Bitcoin can be transferred from person to person.
Unlike fiat money, it cannot be artificially inflated because the Bitcoin code is written in such a way that it halves every four years on a set schedule until 2140, guaranteeing that a set amount of Bitcoins, 21 million, will ever be harvested. The genius of Bitcoin lies in its programming with open source code on a public ledger where every transaction is simultaneously anonymous and public. This anonymity creates an untraceable transaction while at the same time allowing users to vet the system and verify transactions. By doing this it avoids the problem of “double spending” and counterfeiting which has inspired trust in its users.
Despite these advantages, in order for a currency to be viable, and be considered “money” it must satisfy several functions: “It must be a medium of exchange; it must serve as a store of value; it must serve as a

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