What Is A Currency?
Traditionally, currencies are simply an established method of transferring a value of wealth in exchange for a product or service. Early on, people agreed that metals like Gold had certain properties conducive to holding value long enough to enable equitable trade between individuals. Eventually governments issued paper bills, representing an equal value of those metals, because the bills were easier to divide for change, transport, store, and protect.
An Introduction To Bitcoin
A exciting and innovative revolution is coming to the world of finance and it has vast implications regarding global trade and human rights. A digital method for transmitting a value of wealth has been created. In the way that paper bills replaced metals as a medium of exchange, this new digital currency has many new and traditional properties that make it much more desirable as a medium of exchange. This new digital currency has been built on peer-to-peer Internet technology so that no one person, business, or government controls it – It is literally enabled by the individuals that choose to use it. Complex math and strong cryptography are the foundations used to confirm valid, fundable transactions, prevent double spending, and deny inflation.
Bitcoin is a decentralized digital currency established in 2009. It is comprised of well established Internet technologies such as peer-to-peer networking, encryption, and digital signatures to enable global money transfers. What does “decentralized” mean? It means that there is no central authority that governs the issuance or transaction of the currency. It is truly the world’s first democratic money system.
Take a look at these properties of Bitcoin and see if you’re not at least curious about the potential for innovation and freedom that it affords us.
Transaction Fees
It literally costs nothing to participate in Bitcoin. The software is free and open source. There is no fee to join and there are no required transaction fees. Transaction feels are optional and can serve to reduce the confirmation time of your transfers. These transaction fees are determined entirely by you at the time of transfer.
Merchants: This means no more payment processor setup fees or recurring monthly fees to accept Bitcoin as payment.
Secure Transfers And Storage
Bitcoin is the first world currency that can guarantee delivery, resilience against theft or seizure, and survive where other currencies like USD and gold can succumb to natural disasters, wear, and destruction.
If properly cared for, using encryption and a smart backup strategy, you can virtually be guaranteed your Bitcoins can be safe over long periods of time.
World’s First Deflating Currency
Other currencies can inflate and deflate by toying with printing presses, finding new deposits of Gold, etc. These kinds of interferences are a thing of the past with Bitcoin. Never before has the world seen a currency that is guaranteed to deflate over time. Currently, Bitcoin is in an inflationary phase to distribute Bitcoins to early adopters. It is inflating at a rate of 50 Bitcoins per 10 minutes. Every four years this rate will half. For example, sometime in 2013, this rate will decrease to 25 Bitcoins per 10 minutes. Once 21 million Bitcoins has been distributed through a process called “Mining”, it will be impossible to add more Bitcoins added to the currency.
How does this make Bitcoin a Deflating Currency? Some Bitcoins are certain to fall victim to attrition over time because some people will forget their encryption passwords, hard drives will fail and there will be no backup, people will secretly “bury” their Bitcoins in the back yard and die of natural causes without telling anyone their secret.
In these cases, those Bitcoins will be lost forever. This means that over time, the number of Bitcoins will always be increasingly less than the maximum 21 million Bitcoins. As we all know from Economics 101, when there is less of something that is in demand, it becomes more valuable. Your Bitcoins can only become more valuable over time – if Bitcoins succeed as a medium of wealth transfer.
Note: Inflation and Deflation of a currency should not be confused with it’s value. Inflation and Deflation is specifically defined by currency manipulation through the creation or destruction of units of the currency. The value of the currency will always fluctuate relative to other stores of value based on supply and demand. Bitcoin, while currently in an inflationary period and necessary to distribute the currency into existence, is overall a deflationary currency. A limited amount are pre-programmed to be created and a certain amount will inevitably be lost over time.
Enabling Anonymity
Bitcoins are not Anonymous by themselves. Bitcoins enable anonymity by lacking a centralized association between Bitcoin addresses from Individuals and these addresses can be created at any time in any quantity you could possibly need. 
They can even be created off-line, never seen by the Internet, and still securely receive Bitcoins! By using other technologies and limiting how you use your Bitcoins, you absolutely can be completely Anonymous, but it takes a lot of effort, care, and knowledge. With that said, it is very difficult for an average person to make associations between Bitcoin addresses, their transactions, and Individuals and they offer nearly as much anonymity as current fiat currencies in that regard.
Depending on what is being purchased, what information you release about yourself to your merchant, and by using additional technologies and procedures, pure anonymity can certainly be maintained. For example, it is entirely possible to purchase digital goods or services with Bitcoin and remain 100% anonymous when combined with other technologies such as TOR.
Easy To Get In/Get Out
It’s never been easier to get in and out of the Bitcoin Currency. With services like Crypto Exchange, you can walk into any one of 14,000 banks and buy or sell Bitcoins. They are bought and sold at numerous online exchanges around the world (MTGOX, TradeHill). Bitcoin ATM machines have already been developed and are currently being deployed in test locations.
Getting Bitcoins (legitimately, without paying for them) is easy too! Do you sell items at garage sales or places like Craigslist? 
Let people know you accept Bitcoins as payment using graphics like this one or add a postscript to your online ads that you accept Bitcoins. Sell your used items for Bitcoins! Also, if you provide any kind of service, advertise the fact that you accept Bitcoins. Even if your customer doesn’t know what they, they will after you describe it to them!
See Where Bitcoin Is Being Used Today
Learn How To Get Started Now!
If you’re not excited about the prospects of Bitcoin after reading all this, then perhaps Bitcoin is not for you… However, if your curiosity is piqued, then I invite you to read on by visiting the Wallet section to learn how to get started with Bitcoin.