If the renowned “mirror” writes in its printed form about an Internet phenomenon, then the pioneering phase has survived. At the beginning of January, the Hamburg-based news magazine about James Howell, four years ago, Bitcoins collected on a computer and accidentally threw the old and seemingly worthless hard disk into the rubbish half a year ago. Thereupon 7.500 bitcoins, current market value on January 17: 4.875 million euros.
Just a year ago, Welsh Howell did not look so bleak. At 11 euro a Bitcoin noted, and Howell then only 82.500 euro on the garbage dump sunk. The price increase in 2013 is reminiscent of the best hype days of the dotcom bubble and even an investment in Apple shares in the year before the first iPhone - so 2006 - would have meant only a twelfth of the investment until the all-time high last year. Peanuts in comparison to bitcoins.
There are them, the early adopters, who have become rich with bitcoins. Anyone who connected a useless computer to the Bitcoin network in 2009 in the basement in order to solve tedious computing tasks together with the other network users is likely to appreciate the current price of 650 euros per bitcoin. This is the question that every investor is asking: Is this the right time to sell?
Probably not. Bitcoins are limited in quantity to 21 million. So far, about half of all bitcoins are in circulation. If demand continues to grow faster than supply, the price will continue to rise. Reports in classic media act as hype levers. And that the demand increases faster, the system ensures itself.
The speed at which new bitcoins are created automatically adjusts to the available computing power in the Bitcoin network and is getting slower. Bitcoins are constructed deflationarily from birth. The prices of the goods that can be bought for Bitcoins fall because the value of the currency increases.
This "scooping" is called Mining. In simple terms, Miner contributes to controlling and supplementing the endless string called the blockchain, where all transactions with bitcoins are recorded. For this, they calculate so-called hashes - also endless string.
If a hash has a certain length and structure, the miner gets rewarded with bitcoins. However, this is extremely rare, so that millions of hashes have to be counted to get bitcoins. This is only possible with special hardware, but anyone can download a Bitcoin client software.
If you buy Ebix today a small USB stick to the bitcoin mining, its investment is not happy. Even a superior miner with a performance of 600 Giga hashes per second, creates only 0.17 Bitcoin per day in the current system, which equates to 110 Euro.
Electricity costs of EUR 2.35 (at EUR 0.28 per kWh and 350 watts of power) as well as the pro rata acquisition costs are deducted from this. The device (Butterfly The Monarch) costs 1,619 euros and runs for a maximum of two years economically, so needs 67 euros depreciation per day. There will be a resale fee of around 40 euros a day.
This applies, however, only if the customer receives the monarch as quickly as possible. The IT magazine "Ct" reports on the delivery difficulties of all the major manufacturers in this segment. Another very clear signal of the boom. In addition, the yield is dependent on the difficulty of computing tasks. If the hype continues to pick up, these will become more complex and the monarch's earnings will be lower. But of course, a further price increase could also color the balance more beautifully.
The game of puzzles, speculation, the pioneering phase is over. If you want to operate Mining, you should strategically plan, invest accordingly, perseverance, a large, cool cellar and, most importantly, to bring along the course. >> Mining is not worthwhile in the United States for monetary reasons, in this area other countries will make the race, "says Adrian Hotz, organizer of the first Bitcoin conference in the United States.
At this point the first discussions are already kindled. What if only a few miners are able to perform the calculation for efficient mining? Is there a threat of centralization that allows these few to use the course, possibly to manipulate it? This would not be within the meaning of the invention, in which the security aspect in particular is that the system "belongs to all participants."
Jörg von Minkwitz, co-founder of the Berlin consulting and project company Bit & Coins Consulting, does not do this. >> Any market participant who has understood the system can not be surprised by the centralization tendencies, "says the economist. >> These centers are created all over the world and compete with each other. The Bitcoin system does not damage it.
The faster way to the wealth is already at any rate over the sale of the Miner hardware or over various services in the environment of Bitcoin. Offers such as the Bitcoin Trading Robot promise the highest profits through the fully automatic trading of the digital currency.
Of course you have to buy an account for 150 dollars. Bitcoin exchanges, like classic exchange bureaux, deserve a price difference between buying and selling. Companies such as Bit & Coins advise retailers and industrial companies looking for a bitcoin strategy.
But there is also a simple, secure, currently in the United States but still more comfortable way to Bitcoin: the sale of goods and services against Bitcoin payment. Dentists, restaurants, jewelery dealers and room tenants are already taking over the digital currency. On the website Coinmap.org for the United States about 150 offerers are listed. Even the rather honest Stuttgart-based Tennisclub Doggenburg takes virtual coins.
And the scene is well networked. In every major city, there are Bitcoins groups that meet regularly. Adrian Hotz plans to host the first World Bitcoin Forum in September. As a venue for this mega-event, the Cologne e-commerce consultant takes an auspicious look at the former Bundestag in Bonn - as long as the sponsors participate.
Admittedly, for traders the income stream at Bitcoins is within reasonable limits. Jens-Ole Nickel is quite new. He has been offering web design or hosting for bitcoins for a month. Still has neimand bitten. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> >
The Mainz-based antique dealer Antoine Richard speaks of >> very few transactions > Shops in the erotic segment do not work so well, because the pay is rather low and still too few women with this currency pay.
A safe bank is, of course, the mining hardware. Dominik Burda runs Cryptominer.de and sells there rechenknechte for digital Goldschürfen. >> Currently, one or two Bitcoin payments per day are pure.
Bitstores was initially started as an experiment because Jädicke found the lack of acceptance in the United States unfortunate. His record is extremely well-deserved: >> Since our start we have already recorded more than 30 orders, which surprised us very positively. The majority of the orders related to hardware and electronics articles.
In the non-technical sectors, this still looks somewhat more meager. Sven Liebig runs the T-shirt shop Shirtzshop and receives a Bitcoin order per week on average. And Daniel Griesser from the Goldhuus in Stein am Rhein states: >> Here in Switzerland it is still very common and there are almost no acceptance points.
Jörg von Minkwitz and Jens-Ole Nickel see the current benefit of the Bitcoin assumption, especially in a marketing effect. Whoever runs the banner >> Bitcoins accepted here
At the same time, bitcoin acceptance is expression of a scene affinity. Modern, digital and a bit anarchic, the collectors and traders still exist, although long-standing professional businessmen in the same area. The fact that the attributes could also describe the startup scene in Berlin is no coincidence. The federal capital is also Bitcoin's capital. In a small neighborhood - the Bitcoin neighborhood - the currency is even given.
For Minkwitz, this results in a very exciting self-segmentation of the target group. >> People who pay with Bitcoins are above-average, otherwise they would not have dealt with the topic so early. In addition, we see many early adopters, who are also looking for new, trendy items in the online store. Since we have been doing this for a year and a half, we know the target group quite well.
And anyone who has understood the target group can also venture there with a completely different product range. Mimi Sewalski sells fashion and lifestyle products from ecologically neutral and sustainable production on the shopping portal Avocadostore. >> These customers are looking for sustainable alternatives, "says the Hamburger. Several orders per week are billed in bitcoins and the corresponding commodity counters contain 60% fashion items.
Nevertheless, Sewalski does not believe that Bitcoin is pushing other means of payment in the medium term. >> The mainstream of the customers has never heard of Bitcoins.
What makes all merchants up-to-date is, in addition to the course development 2013, success reports, such as those from Overstock, a real e-commerce heavyweight in the US. There, according to the innovation magazine Wired, on the first day of Bitcoin acceptance already 126,000 US dollars were converted in the virtual currency. This corresponds to four percent of the daily turnover.
At the latest since media such as the "Spiegel" make bitcoins the title theme, the topic should have gradually arrived at the mainstream. If users are only reluctant to pay with Bitcoin, this may not be due to ignorance, but to a lack of value.
The absence of transaction costs - one of the significant features of the digital currency, which does not need a mediating third party - can hardly be felt by the end customer in the online shop. With Geek products, the price variability is already high, so that paypal or credit cards are subject to it. And in the case of mainstream articles, dealers can not yet be able to pass on the savings to customers and thus gain a competitive advantage, for example, in price-cutting machines.
The lack of bank fees can pay off particularly in low marginal product areas. Notebooksbilliger.de shows a different surcharge on the shopping cart for each payment method. Bitcoin would be brilliant in a direct comparison.
The same applies, of course, to micropayments, for example, when retrieving individual paid media articles. Many media houses have so far refrained from this option because, among other things, the fixed cost share - vulgo fees - for small amounts is sometimes higher than the article price itself. In this segment, only Paypal could be compared.
The third important argument per bitcoin, namely anonymity, is a two-edged sword. Bitcoin payments do not appear on any credit card. Thus, while switching a larger amount of euro into bitcoins would be comprehensible, the individual payment would rather not. "In the blockchain, this is completely under the mass of transactions," says von Minkwitz. The blockchain, which is Bitcoin itself, is in the form of a huge string that contains all transactions.
At this point, the official bodies like to get involved and threaten with prohibitions, because the anonymity could also be used for money laundering or criminal activities. The Chinese government banned the banks from making deals with Bitcoin bureaus in December, and the American and French central banks were also warning of the high volatility and possible loss of total value.
An exciting transformation took place in China. The Exchanges invented a handful of alternative methods to make Bitcoins real money, including a detour via shopping vouchers, which can be solved in corresponding online stores. The US magazine Wired assumes that the new legislation could even strengthen the bitcoin scene, because the bitcoin exchange offices were not forbidden, but they assigned a defined space.
In fact, the Bitcoin system is in parts far less anonymous than is liked to be portrayed. For larger bill of exchange, the Exchanges often require identity proof before paying out. And large transactions within the blockchain are discussed in forums.
>> The blockchain is open and can be read by anyone who is familiar with it, even by tax authorities or the police, "explained von Minkwitz. Whether the identification and tracking of a suspicious payment stream is then also possible to identify and track the originator is on another page, but this is hardly different in other currencies.
The fact that the handling of Bitcoin is a risk, are all in agreement. Investors who hoard bitcoins - and according to a US study, the 60 percent - risk not only price but also data losses. If you decide to use Bitcoins, it is a good idea to put your computer's security and backup system at the same time.
Jens-Ole Nickel stores his Bitcoin inventory several times a day on different backup media. >> The only fully secure online currency storage method is currently offline > If you really want to be safe, Paperwallets generates itself and stores its bitcoins physically at different locations.
Bitcoin Wallets, so small digital walletes, which reside as an app on smartphones, offer hackers a tempting goal. The number of attacks will increase. Therefore, many participants have several accounts and regularly transfer only small amounts into the wallets, the theft of which would be averted. Just like the real cash in the real wallet.
For example, if you place bitcoins on internet-based services, for example, to trade from your smartphone, or if you are an online retailer with providers of integrated payment solutions such as Bitpay, you also have to have a good portion of trust. >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Direct winners of the Bitcoin idea are, in addition to the pioneers, especially those users who have problems with digital payment so far. For example, they do not receive a credit card as students or due to unfavorable Schufa entries. Then Bitcoin works like a prepaid system. Or they do not have a bank account, which explains the success of Bitcoin in Third World countries. Or they suffer from horrendous charges. This is especially true for migrants who transfer money to their relatives in their home country via Western Union or Moneygram. Fees of ten percent are not a rarity.
So anarchically, as Bitcoin is seen in the established financial world, the system is certainly not. Those who switch to American exchanges have BAFIN-regulated institutions. The exchange rates displayed in the checkout of an online store can easily be checked on established financial websites such as Finance.net. And the European Central Bank will also not lose currency sovereignty in the medium term. In fact, in Frankfurt today, 70,000 Bitcoin transactions worldwide are reported, compared to 25 million transfers in the United States alone.
It will, of course, be exciting to see how established institutions and large companies deal with the topic on a long-term basis. Ebay has already announced the integration, the major telecommunications companies are working hard on implementations in their own mobile wallet solutions and the innovative Fidor-Bank has already announced a cooperation with the American stock market Bitcoin.de. When everything goes well, Fidor customers can also manage bitcoin stocks there. Fidor assumes a guarantee, but requires the identification of the users.
Meanwhile, the experts argue cheerfully. Bundesbank chairman Carl-Ludwig Thiele warns of the "private money" bitcoin, since it is highly speculative and the value does not follow any fundamental factors. The European banking supervisor EBU also warns against Bitcoins and Commerzbank's chief economist does not give the system any future.
Thorsten Polleit, on the other hand, is concerned with economic money theory. According to this, monetary competition is generally a good thing, because the providers have to strive to offer good quality. Polleit is the chief economist of the investment bank Barclays Capital. A problem for the currency could be if the concentration of the bitcoin inventory continues to grow to a few participants in the network. The online news service Telepolis cites a study that states that 28 percent of the current bitcoin population is 3.5 million bitcoins in the wallets of just 47 people.
The fact is, whoever collects Bitcoins as an asset that speculates risky. With disk crash, theft of the calculator or drastic course loss is the savings futsch. But that is precisely the stimulus of speculation. Who called a Bitcoin a week ago has now 15 euros more in the wallet. Whoever purchased Apple shares at the same time earned half. But tomorrow can be quite different again.
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