The great weakness that could kill bitcoin

The lack of social confidence in the transaction of bitcoins constitutes an obstacle for the virtual currency to become
more general.

The value of bitcoin reached new highs, and enormously high, in June 2017, when a unit of virtual currency was worth $ 2,851, whereas barely a year ago was worth 600. It is believed that currently more than 10 million people around the world World The world has bitcoins and more than 100,000 traders accept them in exchange for products (not counting all those who use them to sell drugs and other illegal products on the black market).

Part of the attractiveness of bitcoin for many of its users is the lack of centralized control or regulation by a government or a bank. Instead, it relies on a technology known as a "block chain" to perform and secure transactions. But I think the lack of social confidence in the operation of the block chain is an obstacle for bitcoin to become more general.

The block chain is a public database that records digital transactions. The latter are validated by computers working within a global network that solves complex coding problems. While traditional banking transactions are authorized by financial institutions and are controlled by governments through taxation and contracts between parties with known identities, the block chain is decentralized, unregulated and anonymous.

The fact that transactions are anonymous and irreversible - pose significant problems for social trust among its users. Obviously, anonymity is attractive to people who want to avoid government control. And irreversible transactions were included in the original design of the block chain as a positive feature to eliminate the privilege that banks have to void transactions, even when the contract states that they are final.

But in practice, these characteristics pose a problem for many people. Most people are accustomed to relying on a seller's reputation to decide whether to buy them or not, and the ability of the legal and financial system to help them if something goes wrong. But none of this is possible with the chain of blocks.

Even current users of bitcoins continue to operate to a large extent with the traditional mindset of centralized and regulated currencies. Bitcoin proponents may have to find ways to encourage users to develop a new mental approach to unregulated block chain technology.

If nothing is done to address these problems, precisely what most attracted people to the bitcoins at first could end up limiting their growth and, eventually, bury them in oblivion.