By : Matt Winkeljohn – http://www.resistthetyranny.com

Is Bitcoin really what people claim it is?

The short answer…No!

What is Bitcoin?

Bitcoin is also called “cryptocurrency.”  Unlike gold that is mined or money that is printed, Bitcoin is made by people using computers to solve complex math problems, this process is called “mining.”  People who successfully solve these math problems are then awarded Bitcoins.  After awarded their Bitcoins, these people keep them in their online “wallet.”  The wallet is a kind of virtual bank account that allows users to send or receive Bitcoins, pay for goods or save their money.  Unfortunately, a persons wallet can not be insured, therefore, if a hacker decides to steal someones Bitcoins, there is nothing that person can do about it.  This has already happened a few times in Bitcoin’s short existence.  Bitcoin is also used anonymously.  While there is record of all purchases with Bitcoin, the users name is not recorded, just their wallet I.D.  This anonymity has peaked the interest in smugglers and drug dealers who prefer transactions to be anonymous.

While all of that is true, I am going to tell you what the Bitcoin fanatics will not.

I have listened to the Bitcoin used car salesmen, try to sell me on Bitcoin many times.  Unfortunately for them, common sense and reasoning is not my weak suit and they were unsuccessful.

Since Bitcoin is used world wide, for the ease of writing this article, this will be from the American point of view.

Why are people drawn to Bitcoin?

Many people are drawn to Bitcoin because banks are largely looked upon as highly unreliable.  Plus, there are many people leery of the stability of the United States Dollar (USD) and the fact that the dollar is no longer backed by anything.  The dollar is a fiat, fake currency.

While both of those examples are very true and a good reason to worry, let’s see if Bitcoin is any better.

#1 : Banks are unreliable.

Bitcoin recently crashed by almost 50%, going from $1,079 to $567, almost over night.  Also, to date, in the very short life of Bitcoin, there has already been over $100 million stolen, most of which will never be recovered.

If you remember how Bitcoins are made, they are produced by a program on a computer.  They, just like your money at a bank, are just numbers on a screen.

Bitcoin has another major reliability issue.  In the event of a massive electromagnetic pulse (EMP) or major grid failure, you will not be able to use your Bitcoins.  Remember, they are only good and stored in cyberspace.  In a grid down situation or EMP, your computers and phones will not be working.

Let’s not forget who invented and made Bitcoin.  There is a problem there, we don’t know.  Bitcoin was created in 2009 by an unknown person(s) using the alias Satoshi Nakamoto.

With all the secrecy behind the creator and the obvious reliability issues, a reasonable person should be seeing the problems already.

#2 : The USD is fake and not backed by anything physical.

Bitcons too are fake.  You can not hold them or store them for emergency situations (i.e..power grid meltdown).  As was stated above, the only thing it takes to acquire Bitcoins, is to run a computer program and then the Bitcoins magically appear.  This is similar to how the USD is made.  The Federal Reserve gets the okay to print more money and with a push of a button, voila, magic money is printed.

Neither Bitcoin nor the USD is backed by anything more than the push of a button.

So you don’t like the USD because it is fake and not backed by anything, yet you will spend those dollars to invest in Bitcoin, in order to get a high return of more of the dollars that you were trying to get away from to begin with?

Yea, now is a good time to slap yourself in the forehead.

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