<p>The primary advantages are:</p>

<ol>
<li><p>Speed and price. You can transfer money anywhere in the world within minutes with negligible fees.</p></li>
<li><p>No central authority. Bitcoin is not dependent on any company or government to maintain its value. </p></li>
<li><p>You can start accepting bitcoins instantaneously, without setting up merchant accounts, buying credit card processing hardware, etc.</p></li>
<li><p>Bitcoins are less traceable than many types of monetary transactions (though not anonymous).</p></li>
<li><p>Bitcoins cannot be counterfeited and transactions cannot be reversed.</p></li>
<li><p>No transaction blocking or account freezing. We have seen governments freeze bank accounts of dissidents and payment processors refuse to process certain types of transactions (wikileaks, online gambling in the US, etc). With bitcoin this is impossible.</p></li>
<li><p>A known amount of inflation. Bitcoin is seen as a store of value because the total number of bitcoins that will ever be created is known in advance and it is impossible to create more than that.</p></li>
</ol>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-03-21T18:09:27.970Z
@eMansipater the government regulates money transfer agents and even gold dealers to report the identity of the buyer or seller in some cash transactions. There is no inherent reason this couldn't apply to many more classes of cash transactions in the future. In some countries in Europe, they've outlawed *all* cash transactions over certain amounts. The global capital controls will come as this sovereign debt (and real estate) crisis will **[not hit bottom until 2033](http://copute.com/edu/Intro%20to%20Computers.html#Why_Learn_Programming)**.
Shelby Moore III
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-03-21T18:10:47.640Z
#7 is incorrect. You conflated "inflation" with "debasement". Although the debasement rate is known, the inflation rate has been running wildly between deflation and inflationary drops from $35 to $2 then back up to $17.
Shelby Moore III
CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-09-21T14:45:00.590Z
Regarding 4., they're certainly more traceable than cash, which is arguably the most common type of monetary transaction worldwide.  Might be worth mentioning that specifically.
eMansipater
CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-09-22T01:11:35.500Z
In some circumstances, in others much less traceable than cash which often requires two people to physically meet somewhere and exchange it
lemonginger
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-02-02T11:53:47.993Z
Regarding 1., it's not true since you need to wait for confirmations.
o0'.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-02-02T18:46:36.090Z
and confirmations take 'minutes', so 'within minutes' is certainly not incorrect. :)
nanotube
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-03-08T15:47:33.257Z
though you will have to setup an account with a site like mtgox if you want to exchange bitcoins for something else
Zachary K
CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-08-31T18:28:36.797Z
2012-12-05T03:00:29.017Z
2012-12-05T03:00:29.017Z
lemonginger
<p>There are lots of ways to send money - western union, paypal, bank wire, etc that are more established and fairly quick. What are the advantages of using bitcoin from a bitcoin-proponent's point of view?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-02-02T10:54:08.620Z
See also: [What are the perceived advantages of bitcoin as a store of value?](http://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/questions/2834/what-are-the-perceived-advantages-of-bitcoin-as-a-store-of-value)
ripper234
CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-08-31T00:00:45.387Z
This question is too subjective for a stack exchange site.  From the FAQ, you should only ask "practical, answerable questions based on actual problems that you face."
eMansipater
CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-08-31T00:02:00.487Z
It could easily be rephrased as "What are the qualities of bitcoin as a currency and as a means of facilitating transactions that are unique"
lemonginger
CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-08-31T00:13:41.457Z
It needs to be rephrased. It is too vague/subjective right now.
nmat
CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-08-31T00:15:17.827Z
@lemonginger, et al - I changed to the suggested title, feel free to suggest more edits (just click on the edit button directly)
ripper234
CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-08-31T00:38:38.317Z
Maybe something like "What are the perceived advantages that bitcoin has over other currencies or other ways of sending money?"
lemonginger
CC BY-SA 3.0
2011-08-31T18:24:29.030Z
seems odd that this is one of the most favorited questions on the site at the moment and also has "close" votes. I will try creating a new question that isn't junked up with comments since "why use bitcoins?" seems like a pretty basic question.
lemonginger
<alternatives><currencies><key-selling-points>
What are the perceived advantages of bitcoin as a means of exchange?
lemonginger
# What are the perceived advantages of bitcoin as a means of exchange?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2011-08-31)

There are lots of ways to send money - western union, paypal, bank wire, etc that are more established and fairly quick. What are the advantages of using bitcoin from a bitcoin-proponent's point of view?

**Tags:** alternatives, currencies, key-selling-points

> **Comments:**
> **username_2**: This question is too subjective for a stack exchange site.  From the FAQ, you should only ask "practical, answerable questions based on actual problems that you face."  
> **username_0**: It could easily be rephrased as "What are the qualities of bitcoin as a currency and as a means of facilitating transactions that are unique"  
> **username_3**: It needs to be rephrased. It is too vague/subjective right now.  
> **username_1**: @username_0, et al - I changed to the suggested title, feel free to suggest more edits (just click on the edit button directly)  
> **username_0**: Maybe something like "What are the perceived advantages that bitcoin has over other currencies or other ways of sending money?"  
> **username_0**: seems odd that this is one of the most favorited questions on the site at the moment and also has "close" votes. I will try creating a new question that isn't junked up with comments since "why use bitcoins?" seems like a pretty basic question.  
> **username_1**: See also: [What are the perceived advantages of bitcoin as a store of value?](http://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/questions/2834/what-are-the-perceived-advantages-of-bitcoin-as-a-store-of-value)  

---

## 1 answers

### Answer by username_0 on 2011-08-31. Score: 16 | Accepted answer

The primary advantages are:

1. Speed and price. You can transfer money anywhere in the world within minutes with negligible fees.
2. No central authority. Bitcoin is not dependent on any company or government to maintain its value.
3. You can start accepting bitcoins instantaneously, without setting up merchant accounts, buying credit card processing hardware, etc.
4. Bitcoins are less traceable than many types of monetary transactions (though not anonymous).
5. Bitcoins cannot be counterfeited and transactions cannot be reversed.
6. No transaction blocking or account freezing. We have seen governments freeze bank accounts of dissidents and payment processors refuse to process certain types of transactions (wikileaks, online gambling in the US, etc). With bitcoin this is impossible.
7. A known amount of inflation. Bitcoin is seen as a store of value because the total number of bitcoins that will ever be created is known in advance and it is impossible to create more than that.

> **Comments:**
> **username_2**: Regarding 4., they're certainly more traceable than cash, which is arguably the most common type of monetary transaction worldwide.  Might be worth mentioning that specifically.  
> **username_0**: In some circumstances, in others much less traceable than cash which often requires two people to physically meet somewhere and exchange it  
> **username_5**: Regarding 1., it's not true since you need to wait for confirmations.  
> **username_6**: and confirmations take 'minutes', so 'within minutes' is certainly not incorrect. :)  
> **username_7**: though you will have to setup an account with a site like mtgox if you want to exchange bitcoins for something else  
> **username_4**: @username_2 the government regulates money transfer agents and even gold dealers to report the identity of the buyer or seller in some cash transactions. There is no inherent reason this couldn't apply to many more classes of cash transactions in the future. In some countries in Europe, they've outlawed *all* cash transactions over certain amounts. The global capital controls will come as this sovereign debt (and real estate) crisis will **[not hit bottom until 2033](http://copute.com/edu/Intro%20to%20Computers.html#Why_Learn_Programming)**.  
> **username_4**: #7 is incorrect. You conflated "inflation" with "debasement". Although the debasement rate is known, the inflation rate has been running wildly between deflation and inflationary drops from $35 to $2 then back up to $17.  

---

