With everything from soup to nuts turning digital why should money be left behind? With the same idea in mind Satoshi Nakamoto in 2008 made an open-source software for Bitcoins. By definition “Bitcoin is a virtual money concept that uses peer to peer technology for money transfer or payments”. As it’s Open-source software many people use it throughout the world without any centralized authority to monitor it.
The problem with that was that though the money transfer was quite convenient but the digital money was volatile and insecure. To overcome this issue a proper regulatory system was required that can license the Bitcoin exchange. Two young and charming men: 32 years old Brian Armstrong(CEO and founder) and 26 years old Fred Ehrsam(co-founder) launched Coinbase Inc. in 2012.After 2 years with their dream to become the world’s largest exchange and 5 months of struggle, Coinbase Inc. is licensed by 24 U.S. state legislature for secure money exchange. It is funded up by $106 million by New York Stock Exchange and other financial firms.
The procedure to use Bitcoins is very simple:
1. Buy Bitcoin from any Bitcoin website. Eg: Coinbase Inc.
2. Fill your digital wallet with it.
3. Then use it for any payment.
The company earns profit by taking 0.25% of total amount used for money transfer, but for the first two months it’s completely free of cost. Currently, Coinbase Inc. has agreed to trade with approved account holders geographically limited to U.S. but later they plan to go from national to international.
Being the first ever company that licenses Bit coins, Coinbase Inc. doesn’t promises to remove Bit coin’s volatility or make it as secure as real money but it definitely removes the money eating middle man from money exchanging systems.
Source: The Gizmodo
