Jane: Bitcoin is great, easy and so secure?

Bob: Hmmmm...

Jane: What do you mean Hmmmm…

Bob: Let me ask you something… do you enjoy getting cold calls?

Jane: No! Of course I don’t, I find them a real pest.

Bob: So, is your number unlisted/ex-directory?

Jane: It sure is! I don’t want strangers knowing my number and I hate companies calling me.

Bob: I know what you mean, your phone number is private and you only want people you trust to have it.

Jane: That’s right… where are you going with this?

Bob: Like a telephone directory holding phone numbers for anybody to view and use, bitcoin keeps a ledger of every single transaction you and everybody has made and will make in the future. That ledger is known as the blockchain and can be viewed by anybody.

Jane: Wow!

Bob: The problem is those transactions can be linked and tracked in such a way that people with the right knowledge can find all your past transactions and even know how much money you have in your wallet.

Jane: I thought bitcoin was anonymous and secure!?

Bob: Unfortunately that’s a misconception many people have. Bitcoin is secure in as much as you can’t double spend but your transaction history is completely open for all to see.

Jane: OMG… There would be riots if everybody was able to view other people’s bank transactions…

Bob: I know, and can you imagine when Bitcoin is used more widely…. Companies will start tracing their customer’s transactions and merging it with other information they have to find out what they have purchased and how much is in their account. Services will pop up inviting you to track your partners’ transactions and much more. Not to mention what criminals will be able to do with such information… To me this is very scary.

Jane: It sounds scary to me too… What can I do to protect myself?

Bob: I would recommend you use an anonymous coin, such as Darkcoin

Jane: What is Darkcoin?

Bob: Darkcoin is an anonymous cryptocurrency based on Bitcoin but it has privacy at its heart and obfuscates/hides your coins in the blockchain by mixing them with other coins on the network. It does this when you’re not using your wallet so your anonymous coins are available to spend when you need them.

Jane: That sounds great but I can spend my Bitcoins everywhere and more companies and services and popping up all the time. Where can I spend my Darkcoin?

Bob: Because Darkcoin is based on Bitcoin, there would be very little effort for all those services to start accepting Darkcoin too. The problem is Darkcoin is still a young coin in comparison to Bitcoin and many people haven’t heard about it and the many advantages it has over Bitcoin.

Jane: That’s fab… So how else does Darkcoin differ?

Bob: Did I mention instant transactions?...

To be continued…..