A New Kind Of Currency

This is a paper that I wrote in 2014 for my high school yearbook club. As you can probably tell by the content, I knew very little about cryptocurrencies. The inaccuracies make for an amusing read.

Unfortunately, I never bought any cryptocurrencies until mid-2017. If only I had bought a bitcoin back in 2014, right?

A New Kind Of Currency
[[REDACTED]]
A new way to pay for things online has emerged from the technology era;
cryptocurrency. The most popular type of cryptocurrency and the first to emerge is Bitcoin.
Bitcoin is a decentralized, digital currency that can be used to pay for pretty much anything,
including but not limited to: tablets, phones, computers, security devices, and now thanks to a
Hong Kong retailer, even clothes. Derek [[REDACTED]], a freshman at [[REDACTED]] High
School gave his thought on Bitcoin, “Sounds interesting, may be valuable in the future.” As of
March 26, 2014 at 2:55PM Bitcoin is valued at $585.11 per ‘coin’. That may sound like a lot of
ka-ching, but back in November, Bitcoin was worth approximately $1000 per bitcoin.
Bitcoin is just like a normal currency as in the US Dollar or the Euro. The big difference
between a normal government-issued currency and a cryptocurrency is that the latter is securely
exchanged and exists primarily via computer cryptography. Mathematical algorithms are used to
not only secure the currency but also as a way to ‘mine’ the currency. “You can mine it?” -Yep,
well...sort of. Your computer must solve these mathematical algorithms and when it successfully
does so, voilà, you get a bitcoin (or any other cryptocurrency you so choose to ‘mine’).
Even though ‘mining’ may sound cool and simple, as of right now, ‘mining’ a single
bitcoin takes an extremely long time. So, most bitcoin users resort to buying bitcoins. To
purchase bitcoins all you need is a bank account, with centralized currency (i.e. US Dollars), a
‘digital wallet’, and a bitcoin exchange. A ‘digital wallet’ is pretty much like a PayPal account, it
holds your money (bitcoins), and is the service you use to pay with. Blockchain.info is a highly
recommended wallet service, but there are countless other similar services out there in the vast
cyber world. An Exchange is really just a service that allows users to buy and sell bitcoins
locally or all around the world.
Speaking of exchanges, in recent months, a Bitcoin Exchange has come into the world
spotlight after they collapsed and went bankrupt. Mt. Gox (pronounced Mount Gahks), was a
popular bitcoin exchange until it recently went completely dark. The security of bitcoins, when
put into exchanges, tends to lose its security and trust as any person or organization could form
an exchange. But bitcoin is simply that, a risk. It’s the same as any powerful investment. Plenty
of risk, plenty of potential, and because of that, plenty of attraction. [[REDACTED]] High
School senior, Sam [[REDACTED]], spoke his concern over Bitcoin, “It’s not very reliable
because if the site running the digital money crashes, [whatever amount you invest] is lost.”
Which is a very realistic and sensible fear especially after Mt. Gox.
Even with flack received after the Mt. Gox fiasco, bitcoin is not much different than any
other currency in regards to volatility. For the longest time after the establishment of the US
Dollar, the dollar’s value ran at near nothing and then slowly secured a foothold---but it has had
it’s fair share of collapses (i.e. Great Depression). One could go as far to say that bitcoin has
more potential than the US Dollar, or any other centralized currency, because when bitcoin
received heavy blows, it bounced back with even more vigor and strength than before, in a very
short period. Of course, Cryptocurrencies are not for everyone; putting the amount of trust into
the cyberworld necessary for using Bitcoin can be very hard. Clint [[REDACTED]], a custodian
at [[REDACTED]] High School, put down his ideas in regards to Bitcoin by stating, “I’m a
paper person.”
But, if there is anything about Bitcoin that even remotely interests you, please refer to
these websites: (Introduction to Bitcoin) www.bitcoin.org - (Buy with Bitcoins)
www.bitcoinstore.com/ - www.btcgate.com - (More specifically, buy gifts) www.gyft.com
...or just search Google.