Bitcoin is the first ever type of Cryptocurrency and is the most famous globally. This new digital cash system was released on the 9th January 2009. Bitcoins can be purchased, stored on any computer, electronic device or e-Wallet. They can be used to make online payments, including in bitcoin casinos, or sent to other people around the world. Bitcoin is often referred to as BTC and its price can be variable making it a volatile currency, as its value can increase or decrease in short periods of time, particularly given that it is a relatively new financial instrument, its novel character and its 'illiquid' nature, meaning that it is not easily turned into cash within the financial markets.
Casinos Using Bitcoin
In 2009, Satoshi Nakamoto founded Bitcoin, a method of payment completely different from already existing methods as it is a decentralized electronic currency, with no issuing entity and therefore there is no risk of inflation or manipulation of its value. Nakamoto also created specialised software and a P2P, or peer-to-peer, network, which essentially partitions digital tasks between peers, on the basis of which cryptocurrency works. It should be noted that a peer-to-peer network is a network that develops without a central authority that traces the monetary transactions carried out, a task which is carried out collectively by the same system.
Bitcoin coins are not physical, as with a banknote or metallic coin, but a programming code. These codes are literally created from a computer program and, the more bitcoins that are produced, the slower the generation of new coins becomes. Why? Because there is an established limit on their production, only 21 million bitcoins may be issued, which in turn assumes that the currency tends to appreciate and rather than depreciate, there being a finite, capped limit on availability whereas demand may increase beyond any possible supply, unlike traditional centralized currencies which often print more and more money which in turn is linked to inflation (there being a potentially endless supply of the currency in question). It should be noted that Bitcoin is a new currency in active development, and as such is in an experimental phase, therefore it is difficult to foresee its future. It is not advisable to use Bitcoin as a unique way to save for the long term, but this digital currency is showing promise as a financial instrument and investment tool. You can play bitcoin gambling games online where all games are played and winnings paid out in bitcoins.
How Bitcoin Works
Bitcoin software uses a database distributed across multiple nodes of a P2P network to register transactions employing cryptography to secure them, ensuring that bitcoin currencies can only be spent by their owner and only once, thereby eliminating the risk of digital forgeries.
Coins can be saved on any computer in the form of a special file called 'wallet.dat' as acquired from a Bitcoin e-Wallet or a third party that offers the service to store that file. Whatever the case, bitcoins can be sent via the Internet to anyone who has a Bitcoin address.
The so-called block chain is defined by the creators as shared public accounting and is the network in which all transactions confirmed by Bitcoin are stored, allowing calculation of users' available balances and verifies all transactions, maintaining the integrity and chronological order of the block chain using cryptography. Cryptology itself involves the use of 'keypairs', one is public which anyone can use to send information and the second, which is private and is necessary to decode information.
Transactions that use this digital currency consist of a transfer of values between Bitcoin e-Wallets included in the block chain. Bitcoin e-Wallets include a secret digital code or signature, which is used to sign operations and prove that the transaction is made by the owner of the e-Wallet, as with a password or secret PIN. All transactions between the parties involved in a transaction are public and are usually confirmed by the network within 10 minutes of their use, through a process called mining.
Mining is a distributed system of consensus that ensures that pending transactions will enter the block chain and in chronological order. No-one can control what is included in the block chain or replace parts of it to reverse their own expenses.
Bitcoin transactions are irreversible (you will not be able to cancel payments once issued), fast (in a matter of minutes) and inexpensive (compared to other payment networks). In addition, payments with Bitcoins have the potential to be anonymous because, although the transaction network is public and therefore anyone can view the funds and transactions of a Bitcoin address, this address does not contain information about the identity of the address holder. And precisely for this reason, the addresses should only be used once, because when making an online payment we necessarily identify ourselves and leave information on the Internet which can associate ourselves as individuals with a given Bitcoin address.
How to Open a Bitcoin Account
First, the user will have to install a digital e-Wallet on his computer or mobile device. You must choose Desktop or PC e-Wallets (Linux, MAC and Windows operating systems), hardware, mobile (Android, Blackberry, IOS, Windows Phone) and Web. In bitcoin websites such as bitcoin.org you will be able to see different bitcoin e-Wallets, more than 50 in fact, available for each of these platforms: Bitcoin Core, bitcoin knots, Electrum or BitGo for desktop, Trezor or KeepKey for hardware, ArcBit, Coin.Space, Bitcoin Wallet, Bither or Green Address for phone, or Coinapult, green Address or BitGo for Web. Then your first Bitcoin address will be generated, which works just as a normal email address. There is always the possibility of creating more and you can give them to your friends or vice versa.
To obtain Bitcoins you may: accept them as payment, buy them from a friend or other holder of the cryptocurrency or buy them directly in exchange houses via a bank account - discover the best methods on how to buy bitcoins at NeonSlots. However, it is also possible to generate them with the help of a computer and specific software which will take longer.
Finally, you can spend your bitcoins with online businesses anywhere in the world that accepts this currency as a method of payment, as there are more types of bitcoin becoming available all the time, as well as methods of using them, such as: by telephone, gift cards and, of course, within some Virtual casinos, with companies like BitCasino.io, BitStarz.com or BetChain.com, with games provided by the best studios in the business including NetEnt, Microgaming, Play'nGo and many more. To pay with Bitcoin, you must access your personal profile, add Bitcoin as a payment method, enter the amount to be deposited and send it to the address offered by the casino using your private key.
Bitcoin casinos offer the chance of winning sizable sums which are paid out in bitcoin. There are a number of reasons you may wish to play for real money, albeit with a cryptocurrency, which could later be traded for more traditional currencies or used for other purchases. Here we provide 4 reasons worth considering when deciding whether to use bitcoin for your online gaming activities, namely, that it is cheap, private, secure and the relative transaction speed is fast.
1. Cheap to Use
Most debit or credit cards often make a charge for each transaction and use of the card, fees which are generally greater than those that the use of bitcoin might attract.
More and more people have experienced or at least are worried about identity theft, phishing and cyber hacking. When we use our debit and credit cards to make purchases, our personal details such as our names and addresses together with our financial details such as our card numbers are stored by the seller following each transaction. Furthermore, we receive statements detailing the time, location and amount of our purchase as well as what we purchased. While you may not worry too much about who knows that you bought a dozen eggs at the local shop, there are other aspects of all our lives that if shared with third parties, might leave us more than little uncomfortable. With bitcoin, our anonymity is protected. The amount within the bitcoin you send may be public, but the owner's identity is not and so there is no link between the transaction and the individual carrying it out.
Bitcoin was designed with online transactions very much in mind. It uses advanced systems of cryptography and attracts additional security protocols in the case of large transfers, all designed to protect your financial interests.
4. Transaction Speed
Bitcoin is fast, with most transactions taking place virtually instantaneously. This is possible whenever the entity receiving bitcoin accepts the liability for the transfer. In other cases, where the receiver prefers to have the transfer confirmed by what is called the 'bitcoin block', which is updated every 10 minutes.
5. Words of Caution
The price of bitcoin has been volatile from its inception and so holding sizable amounts of bitcoin for extended periods while watching the price of bitcoin rise and fall while deciding whether to trade it in or keep it on the hope that the price will rise in future can be taken as an 'addition bet', although market traders often prefer the term 'speculation'. There are a number of factors which may have contributed to these dramatic price fluctuations such as its novadus nature the effect of which may diminish over time to produce greater stability of its perceived value.
Limits on Payments, Fees and Commissions
As Bitcoin is a currency not yet widely accepted as a method of payment, the limits of payment, fees and commissions have not been generally established universally. However, often the numbers to be deposited range from 0.001 BTC-0.00001 BTC and 5 BTC. Additional security protocols may dictate that transactions involving more than 5 BTC will also be processed manually.
Payments are usually made instantaneously or within a maximum of 10 minutes, although in cases of very large sums, the transaction may take longer to be carried out as the transaction itself attracts additional digital security protocols.
Deposit and Withdrawal with Bitcoin
As stated above, Bitcoins may be purchased through exchange houses, who are third party companies dedicated to providing Bitcoin services, used to pay or receive payment for goods and services, used as a means of providing a gift and even generated from the remaining stock.
Given that bitcoin is not a physical currency in the traditional sense, as it is electronic in nature, it cannot be withdrawn as money from cash machines. However, you can obtain a paper form of Bitcoin which will list the Bitcoin digital address along with the number of Bitcoins it represents. This paper is similar to banknotes and can have different designs, but all of them have one characteristic in common: they have two QR codes, one with the information of the public address, required to send funds to e-Wallets, the other with the private key, to remove them.