Bitcoin: The Basics for Online Poker Affiliates
Americas Cardroom answers all the important questions concerning the crypto-currency Bitcoin like What is Bitcoin?, Why use Bitcoin? And How does it work? All this in an effort to encourage online poker affiliates to use Bitcoin for all their transactions with the long established Internet card room.
What is Bitcoin?
Bitcoin is a new digital currency that was introduced in 2009. Transactions are sent and received peer-to-peer, meaning that Bitcoin is decentralized, with no intermediary or middleman. There are thousands of merchants that now accept Bitcoin as a payment option, including huge retailers like Overstock, Expedia, and Best Buy.
Why use Bitcoin?
Bitcoin holds many advantages over traditional payment processors. Because transactions are carried out peer-to-peer, there are far fewer fees. Additionally, Bitcoin transaction times tend to be much faster. People can either use Bitcoin as a type of spendable currency, or invest in it speculatively like it’s a commodity, with the hope that it increases in value.
How does it Work?
In order to get started, the first step is to sign up for a Bitcoin wallet. This is where you’ll store and buy your Bitcoins, just as you would store your money in a wallet that you carry in your pocket.
Once the wallet has been signed up for, you can then purchase the Bitcoin through a variety of methods (depending on your wallet) from bank transfer to credit card.
After your account has been funded, you can then send to any merchant or individual that has a Bitcoin address around the world.
Is Bitcoin anonymous?
Yes and no. Every Bitcoin transaction that is ever done is recorded on a public ledger. However, Bitcoin does have a level of anonymity in that the users of the Bitcoin address (receivers or senders) are never revealed.
What is the value of Bitcoin?
Currently, one Bitcoin is valued at over $16,000. In 2017 alone, the currency has exploded in value compared to what it was a year ago. Because the price of one Bitcoin is so high, smaller transactions are carried out in fractions of a Bitcoin.
The Year of the Bitcoin
Bitcoin has shocked the world in 2017 as its value has exploded in year-over-year gains. So why such an increase? Simple, because people have started using the digital currency as their preferred payment processing option, and the more it’s in demand, the more its value increases.
You can use Bitcoin for a variety of purchases by many well-known businesses such as Subway, Expedia, and Microsoft. And the list continues to grow every day.
So what exactly is Bitcoin? Bitcoin is a new kind of money that is a decentralized currency, which changes hands through peer-to-peer transactions.
There are a lot of reasons to get signed up and use Bitcoin as a payment method:
- It’s fast:Sending money, especially around the globe, takes days and sometimes longer.With Bitcoin, you can send money as fast as you send an email, and the processing times are much faster.
- It’s inexpensive: Money orders, Western Union and Bankwires all have excessive fees.Sending and receiving money via Bitcoin is vastly cheaper in comparison.In fact, besides a miniscule miner’s fee, there’s no transaction fees whatsoever.
- It’s safe: As long as you take the necessary steps in order to protect your information when you setup your Bitcoin wallet, your money will be secure. The Bitcoin Protocol has proven to be extremely safe over the test of time (Bitcoin has been in circulation since 2009).
How to get started?
Getting set up to use Bitcoin is simple. There are a few steps to follow, but once completed, sending and receiving Bitcoin is effortless:
- Select a Bitcoin Wallet:A Bitcoin wallet is just like a wallet you’d carry around in your pocket, except your money will be stored online instead of in your jeans.There are a number of wallets with excellent reputations to choose from, with different advantages (like some allow you to link your bank account to your Bitcoin wallet to deposit and withdraw into Fiat currencies).Take some time to research online the wallet that’s right for you.
- Complete the wallet sign-up process:Once you’ve selected your wallet, you’ll be asked to fill in your credentials, and send in some standard Know Your Customer documentations such as your identification and proof of address (just as you would if you were applying for a credit card or a bank account).Once the wallet verifies your documentation, you’ll be able to start purchasing, selling, and sending and receiving Bitcoin.
- Fund your Bitcoin wallet:In order to start using Bitcoin, you must first own some.Common methods to purchase Bitcoin are by using your credit card, doing a bank transfer, or having one of your friends send Bitcoin to your wallet.
- Make your first purchase: Choose what you want to buy from the list of thousands of vendors that now accept Bitcoin as a form of payment.Follow the simple instructions to send from that particular vendor, and your transaction will be processed in minutes.
We encourage you to research more about this exciting new cryptocurrency. There are thousands of articles on the topic and they explain why millions of people around the world have adopted it as a payment solution, and how its trailblazing technology is changing the way the world uses money.