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For any large corporation, multi conglomerate, or common merchant, the concept of Bitcoins seems like a dream come true. With the lack of having to deal with arbitrary, additional fees to credit card companies for every transaction, it is also impossible to implement refunds and are consequently irreversible. Because of this easily exploited door to fraud and theft, more research and time is needed to explore and understand the legal aspects that are currently applied to digital currency.
The reason one would choose using bitcoins over other digital forms of currency is that the return policy is nonexistent. From a buyers perspective it is a much more simple process and has no need to go through any intermediary process. Because of this lack of an intermediary there is a very low risk of a collapse, which the government is sadly guilty of. Because it is a global form of virtual currency there is little chance for one’s savings to be completely wiped out. However, the fact that bitcoins are untraceable can be looked at as both a benefit and a risk. On one hand the government can’t interfere or take their share, but the untraceable feature can make it very easy to carry out criminal acts. Because of its current infamy with providing leeway for crimes there are hardly any places that would accept bitcoins. It is still too early in its lifetime to be used at its fullest potential.
It should be interesting to keep track later down the line in the near future to see if businesses will highly regard the concept of digital currencies and perhaps decide to value this form of payment over more conventional forms of currency. It may even be possible for it to render what we know as the norm to be obsolete in a few decades. As of now, it seems the potential risks far outweigh the benefits, but one can dream of a perfect world where one would have one hundred percent control one one’s money with the ability to use it anywhere, at any time, without having to cross a border of even leave one’s own house. As of now there isn’t a company or established branch of authority to trust and regulate Bitcoins, so they are used at the discretion of the individual, who, if he or she is ignorant of how the system works, can be manipulated into exchanging money for false services by an adept programmer with ill intentions.
