Introduction

Bitcoin is a digital currency which has moved from a raw, experimental concept to widespread acceptance in a few short years. It fulfills some of the basic chacteristics required of any medium that serves as money: bitcoins are divisible, scarce – being absolutely limited in the ultimate quantity that will be issued – fungible and convenient to use. Bitcoins are not intrinsically valuable outside of their use as a medium of exchange – which at this point is enabled by a worldwide transaction network and a large and growing set of parties who accept bitcoins in payment. This self-fulfilling prophesy element, whereby confidence in Bitcoin as a transaction medium in turn creates it as that, makes some people, particularly precious metals believers, uncomfortable with the currency.

While still referred to colloquially as “paper currencies,” in physical fact government-backed currencies are predominantly digital, i.e., book entries on a computer storage disk somewhere. In substance bitcoins and such currencies are more similar than they are different. However, government fiat currencies are backed by legal tender laws which force their acceptance by creditors in settlement of debts, as well as laws which require that taxes be paid in the currency. These differences are not superficial.

There is nothing preordained regarding Bitcoin’s ultimate success. Nonrefutable – also nonverifiable – arguments can be made along a whole spectrum of outcomes, from that it is essentially a borderline scam or mania which will go the way of tulip bulbs and Beanie Babies, to that it will eventually disrupt and supplant force-backed government currencies. Other alternative digital currencies may supplant Bitcoin even if the general concept gains widespread acceptance. Two things do seem clear: (1) The standard state-based currencies have been sufficiently poorly managed that the arena is ripe for alternative solutions; (2) the genie is out of the bottle with regard to crytocurrencies, and it is not going back. Meanwhile, for now bitcoins have a utility which is substantial and expanding.

The alternative digital currency transaction networks use peer-to-peer technology, and have no bank or other central authority behind them. The cost of transferring bitcoins between holders is also a tiny fraction of a similar sized fiat currency transaction. Transfers also happen far more quickly and with less scrutiny by the financial authorities. They thus have attracted the attention both from those driven purely by pecuniary interests and those who follow a decentralized political philosophy – those who are looking for an alternative financial system which is not backed by force. Finally, many foresee a Bitcoin-based financial system as one that will continue to function even if the current one run by the world’s central banks breaks down.

Those new to the Bitcoin arena may start the learning process at the Bitcoin home page and the Bitcoin Wikipedia page.

SpartanForex Accepts Bitcoin, Tether, and Other Cryptocurrencies for Deposits for Funding Trading Accounts

Clients wishing to fund their new or existing SpartanForex account with bitcoins can do so using the online form which we will send on request. New clients planning to do this: Please choose the “Bitcoin” option in the dropdown menu in the “Funding Currency” field towards the bottom of the online application form. The application process starts here. Note that standard SpartanForex trading accounts use U.S. dollars (USD) for margin, and your trading account is denominated in USD, thus the bitcoins you send will be exchanged for USD. For account funding purposes, bitcoins are only used as a convenient – and very inexpensive – transaction mechanism. The USD value of the bitcoins you send will show up in your account balance within one business day.

Ethereum, Litecoin, Tether and Other Cryptocurrencies

Litecoin was among the first leading alternatives to Bitcoin in the digital currency realm. The foundations of Bitcoin and Litecoin are fundamentally similar with significant differences in their implementations. Ethereum has become a major second player in the cryptcurrencies space, with a substantially different technical foundation and purpose. Tether is a blockchain managed “stable coin,” which is designed to maintain a value of 1.00 USD per coin. In theory it is backed one-for-one by safe USD-denominated bank reserves or interest-bearing assets. In addition, there have been dozens of other entries in the cryptocurrency arena that have come and gone in the over one decade since Bitcoin first burst upon the scene. Some have gained enough traction to have sustained a nontrivial market valuation. Suffice it to say that it is a very dynamic field, with rich speculative opportunities.

Demo Trade Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other Cryptocurrencies: CFDs in MT4 and Spot Cryptos on the SpartanOracle Platform

Pricing and demo trading in bitcoin and litecoin vs. USD pairs – symbols BTCUSD and LTCUSD – are now available on the SpartanForex MT4 platform. Open up a demo account today and try it out for yourself! Traders can place leveraged bets on the direction of bitcoin and litecoin, using their favorite indicators and expert trading systems on the platform with which they are very familiar.