Introduction
The inventor(s)
Bitcoin has been around for nearly a decade, and it’s been a rocky road. The cryptocurrency was invented in 2009 by Satoshi Nakamoto, an anonymous developer or group of developers. The invention happened after the release of Bitcoin’s Whitepaper was released in 2008, shortly after the Financial Crisis
The purpose of Bitcoin
Bitcoin was intended to be an alternative to traditional currencies like the dollar and euro that could not be controlled by governments or banks.
Bitcoin’s scarcity
It’s also known as “digital gold” because of its limited supply: there will only ever be 21 million bitcoins. But bitcoin is more than just digital money — it can also be used as a commodity or investment vehicle. In this article, I’ll explain how bitcoin became so valuable and how you can trade it, as if it was stocks on Wall Street!
How Bitcoin moved from the Dark Web to Wall Street
Cryptocurrency is becoming a serious investment, and Bitcoin is the most well-known cryptocurrency. But it wasn’t always that way.
Dark Web bringing utilization to Bitcoin
Bitcoin’s journey from the Dark Web to Wall Street began with Silk Road, an online marketplace for illegal drugs and other illicit goods that was shut down by authorities in 2013. The site used Bitcoin as its primary form of payment, which helped make the cryptocurrency legitimate enough for mainstream investors to take notice.
Mt. Gox
After Silk Road was shut down, another website called Mt Gox became one of the biggest exchanges where you could buy and sell Bitcoin -until hackers stole 850 thousand coins worth $450 million dollars from them in 2014 (which today would be worth over $19 billion).
Ross Ulbricht
And then there was Ross Ulbricht who created Silk Road but was arrested on drug trafficking charges after being caught red-handed running it from his laptop when FBI agents burst through his door without warning during his 30th birthday party at home!
Bitoin goes parabolic
Bitcoin’s first major boom occurred in late 2013 when the price of one bitcoin rose from about $100 to nearly $1000. This attracted more investors and led to a bubble where prices were artificially inflated by speculators. Then, just as quickly as it started, the price plummeted back down to around $200.
The cryptocurrency market was shaken up again in 2017 when Bitcoin hit an all-time high of $20,000 per coin. This led to a frenzy of buying and selling as people scrambled to get their hands on some of the digital currency before prices rose any higher. It didn’t end well because prices crashed back down again later that same year.
Once again, in late 2020 we saw another parabolic move in Bitcoin with a rally from October 2020 at $10,600 per coin to its all time high (ATH) in November 2021 of $67,000 per coin. Since then, however, the price fell 74.33% from November 2021 to January 2023 where the price bottomed at $15,750 per coin.
The rise of Bitcoin
What Bitcoin offers
Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency and a digital payment system. It’s decentralized, meaning it’s not controlled by any one authority or central bank. It uses cryptography to secure transactions and control the creation of new units of the currency.
Bitcoin was invented by an unknown person or group of people under the name Satoshi Nakamoto in 2009 and released as open-source software in 2010. The system is peer-to-peer; users can transact directly without needing an intermediary like a bank or PayPal.
How the Dark Web works
The Dark Web is a subset of the Deep Web, which refers to all parts of the internet that are not easily accessible by search engines. Many sites on the Dark Web require special software to access them, such as Tor and I2P.
The Dark Web is used for a number of purposes, including the sale of illegal goods, money laundering and trading in personal data. It’s also home to cybercrime forums where hackers and scammers can buy and sell their wares.
The Blockchain is much more than illegal activity
However, Bitcoin is much more than the Dark Web. Data from Chainalysis, a major cryptocurrency transaction monitoring company, shows that only 0.24% of all transactions in 2022 were linked to illicit activity – Down over 90% from 3.37% in 2019.
Bitcoin on Wall Street
Bitcoin has become a popular way to invest and store value.
Wall Street is beginning to take notice of the cryptocurrency, which has seen its value increase exponentially since its inception in 2009. In fact, it’s not uncommon for investors to have seen returns of over 1,000 percent on their initial investment when they bought Bitcoin back in the day. And with more than thousands of cryptocurrencies on the market today–and hundreds more being created each day – it’s easy for new users to get started buying and selling them through an online exchange such as Bitinvestor.
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- Sources: Investopedia
Bitcoin isn’t a traditional currency
Bitcoin is often called a digital currency, and it is. But not in the traditional sense of the word. It’s more accurate to say that bitcoin is a cryptocurrency or a form of digital currency. The important point is that bitcoin exists only online and doesn’t have any physical form. This makes it very different from traditional currencies like euros or dollar.
Wall Street skepticism
Wall Street’s skepticism about Bitcoin could be claimed not to be totally rational and is based on a number of misunderstandings and misconceptions:
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- Regulation: Although Bitcoin operates beyond the control of governments and central banks, this does not mean that it is totally ungoverned. Regulations for cryptocurrencies and the blockchain technology that underpins them are still being developed.
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- Volatility: Although the price of Bitcoin has historically fluctuated significantly, it is also true that in the long run, its price has been rising consistently. Furthermore, rather from being a sign of instability, the high volatility of Bitcoin can be considered as a natural outcome of its still-developing market.
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- Lack of Tangibility: Despite being intangible, Bitcoin is a ground-breaking technology that could alter how we hold and transmit money. Those who only see Bitcoin as a speculative investment frequently ignore this innovation and growth potential.
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- Association with the Dark Web: Although often confused with the Deep web, it’s true that Bitcoin is used on the dark web, it’s also utilized for a number of legal activities, including peer-to-peer transactions, international money transfers, and micropayments. Bitcoin’s connection to the dark web should not be interpreted as evidence of its intrinsic evilness.
It is crucial to take into account the potential advantages and long-term potential of the technology rather than concentrating simply on its perceived flaws and negative connections, even though Wall Street’s mistrust of Bitcoin may be understandable.
Deep web vs Dark Web
As the Deep Web and Dark Web are often confused to be the same thing, here’s what makes up and differentiates the 2 different terms:
Deep Web:
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- Refers to all parts of the internet that can’t be indexed by search engines
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- Includes personal databases, private webmail services, government databases, and other content that is not publicly accessible
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- Is larger in size than the visible web (surface web)
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- Legitimate use cases, such as online banking and secure email services
Dark Web:
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- A sub-section of the deep web, accessible only through specialized anonymizing tools such as Tor or I2P
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- Often used for illegal activities such as drug trafficking, illegal arms trade, hacking services, and cybercrime
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- Has a reputation for being a place for anonymous and untraceable criminal activity
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- Not all parts of the dark web are used for illegal activities and some parts can be used for legitimate purposes like protecting privacy and freedom of speech.
Note: It is important to understand that while the deep web and dark web are related, they are not the same thing. Accessing the dark web can be illegal in some countries, and can also be dangerous due to the high risk of malicious activities.
Conclusion
Bitcoin may have its origins in the Dark Web, but it’s now become a part of everyday life. It’s not just used by criminals anymore – it has also become a legitimate investment option for ordinary people looking to make money without having to deal with banks or other financial institutions.
Get started with crypto by using Bitinvestor
We hope you’ve gained a bit more knowledge on Bitcoin from the article above! Once you’re ready and have a wallet, you can Buy Bitcoin through Bitinvestor. We offer a variety of payment methods to make it easy, simple, and fast to buy Bitcoin.
