Comparison Between Bitcoin and other payment methods

Comparison with other payment methods

In order to compare it against other currencies and payment methods, we must take into account certain characteristics that these two concepts present or should present to be ideal. Next we explore which:

Transferable and portable: it is possible to send, receive and load it with ease to acquire goods and services. In some cases, it is even possible to send it to the other side of the world in just a few seconds.

Possibility of carrying out large transactions: it is possible to transfer large amounts to another person or entity easily and quickly.

Possibility of making micropayments: it is possible to transfer minimum amounts - such as tips - to another person or entity easily and quickly.

Protected against inflation: it has an established supply, that is, it is not unlimited because you cannot produce as many as you want. In this way, inflation will not be a problem, because the less there are, the demand will increase and therefore the price.

International transactions: can be used to send funds easily, quickly and effectively around the globe.

Decentralized: it is not controlled by a central entity - such as the government or a bank - and therefore it is not possible to freeze, lose or devalue funds according to the criteria or capacity of that entity.

Private transactions: the identity is not directly linked to the account where the funds are deposited.

Sure: it has some resistance to theft and loss.

Scalable: it can support thousands or millions of transactions per second and continue to grow as needed.

Divisible: it is easily divisible into many smaller parts.

Durable: does not disappear or is damaged as little as possible over time.

Fungible: it is interchangeable for goods, services or other currencies in a proportion of equal value.

Bitcoin comparison chart with other currencies and payment methods

• (1) Unlike the others, PayPal is not a currency, but only a payment method. Other currencies, such as the dollar, are used through its platform.
• (2) Gold is only relatively portable and transferable in its original form. Only using paper redeemable by metal becomes really portable. And even then, paper money is not as manageable as other methods.
• (3) International transfers in fiat money are possible, but include cumbersome paperwork, high costs and valuable time.
• (4) Bitcoin is pseudo-anonymous, because at first glance only the public address can be seen, which is not linked to any personal document.
• (5) There is no currency or payment method that is 100% secure. There is always the possibility of theft or loss, both physically and digitally. However, as the bitcoins are within the blockchain and if the user protects their private key, it can be said that the possibility of theft or loss is quite small, unlike other currencies.
• (6) Bitcoin currently has scalability issues, but many developers around the world are working to solve them, and various proposals are being discussed.
• (7) PayPal is not a currency but a payment platform, therefore, it is not divisible or fungible.