Bitcoin: Digital Illusion or a Currency of the Future?

Abstract

Bitcoin has been one of the most interesting financial innovations in the last ten years. In this essay, we set out to discover why it has not spread as a medium of payment and how it has become a high-risk form of investment instead. We examine the operational mechanisms of bitcoin technology and explain the ideological background for the popularity of bitcoin. We conclude that, in its present form, bitcoin is not suitable to become a generally accepted medium of payment.