Jul 20, 2022 03:49 PM EDT By David Thompson, UniversityHerald Reporter

Bitcoin is valuable because it's used as a currency in black market transactions, ransomware attacks, and darknet drug markets. This makes up nearly 100% of bitcoin transaction volume right now.

But what about outside of the black market? Can bitcoin be more than just an anonymous form of money laundering or random payments? 

"Bitcoin was not built to help people launder money or evade sanctions: it was built to empower them." This style of empowerment isn't subtle. Bitcoin's decentralized architecture allows businesses and individuals to cut costs by disintermediating intermediaries.

Why is bitcoin hitting the mainstream news again?

Bitcoin is not only disrupting finance but also shaking up political institutions. There are financial reviews about BitProfit to understand more about this trading platform. There's a political dilemma going on around bitcoin right now. The problem is: how can you figure out what bitcoin's market value should be when you don't even know if it is good or bad for society?

People who think bitcoin and blockchain technology are total fraud point out that 99.9% of all transactions are used for illegal or illicit purposes. In other words, they make the case that bitcoin is a tool for criminals to get away with their illegal activity.

Is there no value in bitcoin outside of the black market?

Let's explore some examples. First, we'll look at four different industries where Bitcoin is disrupting things and how it could affect your life. As you'll see, even if you don't want to use or invest in bitcoin, there are five good reasons for you to pay attention.

1. Banking and Payments

The first example is banking and payments. Some people think of bitcoin as digital gold, while others believe it could replace traditional payment systems like MasterCard or Visa.

Regardless of how you feel about the cryptocurrency's investment potential, many good reasons to oversee the cryptocurrency space.

2. Insurance

The second example is insurance. The blockchain makes it possible for people to take out decentralized peer-to-peer insurance policies in addition to the traditional ones you can get through resellers or brokers.

This means that customers will get cheap customized policies without an intermediary. This could save people money since the traditional insurance market is highly competitive.

3. Retail

The third example is retail, where Bitcoin-powered peer-to-peer marketplaces are trying to revolutionize the whole way people shop online. These marketplaces are like eBay or Etsy, but for Bitcoin users who shop exclusively with the cryptocurrency.

There's a big catch here, though: vendors on these sites must be willing to accept Bitcoin for payment, which means they need to understand how cryptocurrencies work and use this new technology in their business model.

4. Professional Services

The fourth example is professional services, where smart contracts are used to eliminate intermediaries in fields like law and accounting.

For instance, the Ethereum blockchain platform allows people to issue digital currencies compatible with other distributed financial technology applications running on the network. This means small businesses can get loans or purchase insurance, while global companies can issue their tokens to raise capital.

5. Real Estate

The fifth example is real estate, where blockchain technology makes it easy for investors to avoid taxes and pay less money in transfer fees when buying and selling houses. That's because the blockchain creates a permanent public record of all transactions on a decentralized ledger that can't be altered or deleted.

Regular transactions are slower and less reliable than Bitcoin payments.

Bitcoin's high security and quick payment system is a tremendous value proposition. In addition, this technology offers efficiencies that financial institutions and businesses would love to have access to but don't want to invest too much time and money into.

Additionally, bitcoin's decentralized nature means you never have to worry about your funds being frozen or experiencing another type of issue that comes from doing business with a traditional financial institution. Bitcoin's ability to help people gain more control over their money has led to exciting experiments in the developing world. 

Conclusion:  

Bitcoin isn't just a digital currency anymore. Instead, it's an industry that is ripe with opportunity and has the potential to dramatically change how people think about money, insurance, banking, and investments. Bitcoin enables this because of its decentralized nature, faster transaction rates, and cheaper fees than traditional settlement rails.

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