For a moment we were hearing ‘Bitcoin’ everywhere. Now the new exciting virtual payment platform is slowly fading away. Will it be gone for good sooner rather than later? Bitcoin is a peer-to-peer payment system and digital currency, which only exists online with values based on an algorithm. Users send and receive bitcoins using wallet software on a personal computer, mobile device, or a web application.
It was meant to change the global monetary system for the better. Now the world’s largest exchange for trading bitcoin currency shut down Tuesday, triggering a massive sell-off and sending many prospective investors away.
Mt. Gox in Tokyo stopped all operations, telling users that they could not withdraw their funds. The website was also shut down and Mt. Gox users may have lost more than $300 million worth of bitcoins.
This is not the beginning of Bitcoin’s issues. According to reports, in late January, the chief executive of another bitcoin exchange was arrested on money-laundering charges. Following, Russia banned the virtual currency, and Apple Inc. pulled a popular bitcoin app from its App Store over concerns about its legality.
Looks like Paypal and other online payment sites have nothing to worry about.
