Digital currencies have some advantages over physical currencies and other means of payment. Bitcoin.org lists the following for Bitcoins:
Freedom of payment: With a Bitcoin, you can instantly send or receive any amount anywhere.
Low rates: Currently, payments made with digital currencies are processed at low rates or even exempt. There are charges if users wish to have faster confirmation of operations by the system. For commerce in general, there are services based on Bitcoins in which the processing of sales and the transfer of values ??are carried out daily and at lower costs than those of traditional methods, such as PayPal or credit card networks.
Security: According to the Bitcoin.org website, Bitcoin payments can be made without linking the user's personal information to the transaction. "This offers strong protection against identity theft," he says. Another advantage is that the user can protect money with backup and encryption.
Transparent: All information about the offer of Bitcoin units is available on the blockchain for anyone. No one, nor any organization, can control or manipulate the digital currency protocol because it is encrypted. With that, the Bitcoin core is recognized as trustworthy for being neutral, transparent and predictable.
Anyone betting on the digital currency market, on the other hand, needs to be aware of a number of details that are specific to that segment. Some of them are:
Degree of acceptance: As a relatively small number of people know and - even less - use digital currencies, there are few establishments that accept this form of payment, as reported by Bitcoin.org.
Volatility: Major price adjustments are not uncommon in digital currencies like Bitcoin. This is exactly because, little by little, cryptocurrencies are gaining visibility, which attracts many new users and ends up overvaluing the asset.
“These adjustments resemble traditional speculative bubbles: overly optimistic press coverage causes waves of novice investors to push up the price of Bitcoin. Exuberance then reaches an inflection point, and the price finally plummets, ”explains Ulrich. Some analysts are skeptical of this behavior, while others believe that the maturing of the market and the system tend to reduce volatility over time.
Security: Although Bitcoin.org reinforces security as a positive aspect of digital currency, Ulrich points out that if users are not careful, they risk “erasing” or losing their Bitcoins. "Once the digital file is lost, the money is lost, just as with paper cash," he says.
Ulrich explains that digital currency wallets can be protected by encryption, but it is up to the user to activate it. "If a user doesn't encrypt his wallet, Bitcoins can be stolen by malware," he says. Likewise, digital currency exchanges need to protect themselves from hacking - news about thefts happens eventually.
Cryptocurrency quotes: follow the price changes of the main digital currencies.
How to invest in cryptocurrencies
There are a few ways to invest or purchase Bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies. It is possible to buy shares of cryptocurrency funds, to trade them directly at a specialized broker (also known as exchange), accepting digital currencies as payment in some business or even mining.
Purchasing shares of funds is one of the simplest ways. In 2018, the Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission (CVM) allowed Brazilian funds to make indirect investments in cryptocurrencies abroad - buying derivatives or quotas from other funds, for example.
These portfolios are distributed by brokers and investment platforms and some require relatively low value investments (R $ 5,000 or even less). Funds can be a good alternative for those who want to expose themselves to the cryptocurrency market, but do not feel safe to do this alone, since who decides and monitors applications is a specialized manager.
Another relatively simple way to invest in Bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies is through a specialized broker. There are some houses in Brazil, called exchanges, that offer this type of service.
The first step is to open an account on the exchange, filling out a registration with personal data. It is possible that she may request the presentation of some documents or copies of them to validate the identity of the investor.
Some brokers adopt extra protection mechanisms, in addition to the usual passwords, such as tokens.
