Introduction
The US Dollar seems perfect. It is more than just the national
currency of the United States. It is the standard for world trade.
People everywhere are used to compare prices in dollars, and
transactions can be done anonymously with cash or openly
through bank transfers. With credit cards you may even spend
dollars you don't have. Some even consider it a store of value.
Unfortunately, the dollar is the Titanic of money. Many
economists think there's only a question of time before it hits the
iceberg. Most of these economists predict that gold and silver
will take over. A small group of economists have a completely
different approach. Together with a group of programmers,
anonymously under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakomoto, they
have invented digital money called Bitcoin.
Bitcoin is superior to other kinds of money. It can be transferred
around the world instantly, anonymously and virtually for free.
No registration is needed to open an account. No group of
people controls the money supply.
Today, four years after it was invented, bitcoin is more popular
than ever before, although it is still a drop in the ocean compared
with dollars and gold. In this book I will try to answer the
question that everyone asks; will bitcoin go mainstream or will it
just fade out and die?