In the wake of the Cypriot banking crisis of 2012/2013, and the Greek debt crisis, several important tectonic shifts took place in Europe. Among them was a massive $10 billion bailout by the ECB, the IMF, the EC and other organisations. This helped to prop up the beleaguered economies of Cyprus and Greece, and to restore a modicum of stability to the EU. An interesting development took place at the time, and it was the rise of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin (BTC). From 2013 onwards, this virtual currency has been thrust into the limelight and a growing number of retailers, consumers, and e-commerce vendors are accepting BTC as their preferred methods of payment. The banking system has proven itself unreliable in crunch situations, and people have decided to pursue alternative means to obviate a recurrence of such crises.

One of the most interesting developments that has taken place with digital currency such as Bitcoin is the emergence of trading on virtual currencies. The concept itself is nothing new, as speculators oftentimes go short or long on obscure commodities and options. Virtual currency has the added advantage of anonymity, low or zero commissions or fees, widespread acceptance and versatility. It may not be a fiat currency such as the USD, EUR, JPY or ZAR, but its acceptance among merchants and traders is growing all the time. If we have learned anything from the recent financial crises (beginning in 2009 with the global financial crisis), it is this: central banks cannot control regional or global economic affairs by way of monetary policy decision-making. Quantitative easing (QE) policies are seen as a way to stimulate economic activity by increasing the velocity flow of money through the economy. The theory is sound, but the practical applications thereof are suspect.

Bitcoin and Binary Options – The Contrarian Investments

Traders have long been seeking a currency that is not subject to the whims and oversight of the Federal reserve bank, the Bank of England, the European Central Bank or the others. Digital currency is provided on open source platforms with complex algorithms. It is not subject to the rules and regulations of monetary authorities or government and it trades openly in the global market. As such, greater legitimacy is being lent to Bitcoin. When fiat currencies lose their lustre among traders, it makes sense that alternatives are sought out. Fortunately, the rise of Bitcoin came hot on the heels of the emergence of binary options trading as an alternative to institutional trading brokerages. Binary options trading is highly regarded as an effective way to bolster your financial portfolio with non-traditional investment vehicles.

With binary options, fees, commissions, leverage and margin are set aside so that traders can get to the crux of the matter: trading. Unlike traditional investments, the only thing that matters is speculation on whether the asset will rise or fall at expiry time. A quality binary options broker offers payouts in the region of 70% – 90% on in-the-money trades. Over time, we have seen many of these brokerages introducing a list of exciting new tradable assets. These broad categories are currency pairs, commodities, indices and stocks. However, digital currencies are now included in the mix, and it is possible to trade BTC in much the same fashion as you would trade a conventional currency. In other words, BTC/USD trades are just as popular as the EUR/USD. The two ways to trade BTC are future price movements based on the value of BTC, and using BTC as an actual currency to trade standard options.

The relative bullishness of BTC over time has made it a preferred digital currency for traders. Over time, this digital currency has proven itself to be a solid performer with long-term bullish trends. Call options and put options are possible, and the currency is subject to the same volatility as a traditional currency in the financial markets. The Mount Gox crisis had a bearish effect on BTC, and any similar hacking or malfeasance of BTC operators will naturally drag down the currency. On the plus side, BTC gains value when increasing numbers of merchants except this virtual currency and it gains mainstream popularity. The question about the viability of BTC as an investment is easily answered. Provided that your BTC wallet is secure, there is no reason to doubt that this limited currency will increase in value over time. Since its total production value is capped at 31 million BTC, it will always have greater demand than supply. This alone combats the inflationary effect the traditional currencies are subject to. Besides, it is the ideal currency for trading since it offers anonymity, flexibility and low cost.