Skip to main content TechBeacon LearnOur ContributorsAbout Bitcoin blockchain's potential for secure transactions gets real Bitcoin has excited entrepreneurs and venture capitalists and led to the creation of dozens of startups.To date, a total of $676 million has been invested in the digital currency and its technologies.Yet, technologists are increasingly focusing on the blockchain, a critical part of the Bitcoin protocol that keeps a permanent, distributed cryptographic record of digital currency transactions.The blockchain is a public write-once, read-anytime database that isn't under any centralized control.That functionality gives entrepreneurs the ability to build unique applications that rely on its security.New value now being unlocked by startups Digital document verification service BlockSign, for example, stores a 32-byte hash—the digital fingerprint—of a contract or other important legal document within a field in a transaction recorded in the blockchain.

With that information, the startup can authenticate and verify copies of the digital document."A lot of the security and privacy functionality is created in the way that Bitcoin leverages the blockchain," says Nicholas Thorne, co-creator of BlockSign.Any data stored is publicly accessible, and the customers aren't locked into a single provider, he explains.bitcoin router port"Rather than ever having to come back to us to authenticate or verify the authenticity of an agreement, anyone can do it."bitcoin server swedenDespite Bitcoin's black eye, blockchain is like black gold While the decentralized Bitcoin digital currency has taken hits in the past year—from the failure of Mt.bitcoin idr chartGox to legitimate doubts about bitcoin's viability—the blockchain has gained an increasing amount of attention from entrepreneurs and venture capital firms.bitcoin conference boston

It's little wonder then that BlockSign isn't alone.Storj.io aims to use the technology as the basis of distributed cloud storage, allowing customers to pay a market rate for data storage rather than rely on a single vendor.The blockchain allows the system to locate, secure, and verify data, which is broken up into "shards."Building on security is central to success Another startup, Blockstream, aims to create the infrastructure, so-called "side chains," to allow more innovation on blockchain technology.bitcoin office torontoIts distributed nature and ability to attest to the security of transactions are fundamentally interesting capabilities, but Bitcoin requires reliability.bitcoin block confirmation timeThat can slow innovation, according to Reid Hoffman, chairman and co-founder of LinkedIn, who invested in Blockstream.

"The blockchain creates the possibility of trustless trust," Hoffman said in a blog post on his reasons for the investment.The open-source nature of the code and standard behind Bitcoin reinforces that trustless trust, but it also means that any innovations take time to be adopted, if they're adopted at all."This characteristic is foundational to Bitcoin's value and success to date," Hoffman wrote."But it also means that advances to Bitcoin Core, the software at the heart of the system, happen slowly."Blockstream aims to allow more innovation, while protecting security and verifiability.Bitcoin was just blockchain's first killer app Ted Rogers, chief strategy officer for Bitcoin technology company Xapo, said that with its distributed nature and its ability to be secure and verified, the technology could be the foundation for an entire ecosystem without intermediaries.Late last week, Overstock, which was the first major online retailer to accept Bitcoin, notified the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that it was planning to issue as much as $500 million in stock using blockchain technology as an alternative trading system, sidestepping traditional exchanges such as Nasdaq and NYSE.

And the the Nasdaq exchange itself is now reported to be looking to blockchain for its pre-IPO trading arm, Nasdaq Private Markets."If we think of the blockchain as TCP/IP, then Bitcoin is just the first killer app," Rogers said, stressing that the revolution is not about the currency but about the peer-to-peer infrastructure."We are in the middle of being able to do things peer-to-peer that were never thought possible before because intermediaries were required."It's the dawn of the new age.Nah, that's a little too much.But it is a pretty cool new invention.For those who have never heard of bitcoin, imagine: digital coins (abbr.BTC) that one can hold and use as money.Yet, it's never quite right to just pin it down to one thing.Instead of searching for a definition that is clear but inaccurate, let's delve into the specific uses of bitcoin.Like a currency, you can buy and sell things with bitcoin, without fiat money.That means sellers provide goods and service in return for bitcoin.

While it's not universal, seller's adoption rate for bitcoin has been increasing; more and more merchants, including Dell, Amazon, OKCupid are accept bitcoin as a mode of payment.As of now, you can get gift cards, air tickets and even pay for your college education using only bitcoins.Furthermore, shopping with bitcoins can help you save money if you pick are savvy enough to find the right deals.Remittances, payments, and other similar financial services can be made faster when bitcoin work with banks.In this case, the volatility of the price of bitcoin does not matter because you are holding on to bitcoins for only a couple of minutes.Here's a simple illustration of the movement of money conventionally: Source: World Economic Forum With bitcoin, it's possible simplify the process.You can buy bitcoins in country A, and cash out on bitcoins in country B's local currency and deposit that money into your bank account there.Despite the different charges and exchange rates, transferring small amounts will most likely be cheaper and faster with bitcoin.

Interestingly, banks and other organisations see the benefits of the bitcoin network and are developing bitcoin-inspired systems for their own use.Like Gold, bitcoin can be thought to have intrinsic value, without being actually useful.It's high volitility and the fact that it can be exchanged for fiat money, makes it a good trading asset.However, like any other trading, be it in gold, forex or bitcoin, one needs to do thorough research, and understand the pros and cons before venturing into it.It's hard to get your head around the word "bitcoin" in one sitting.The true value of this network lies in the immutable distributed ledger system that has the potential to disrupt any industry that involves trust.People are often bombarded with negative narratives of the currency on mainstream media, yet Bitcoin's use as digital cash is only the tip of the iceberg.With top talents and academia behind this open source technology, it'll be exciting to see how it unfolds.How does it work?

If you want to go into the technicalities of it, read the paper here If you're not too familiar with cryptography, this will help.Simply put, instead of having your bank balance on your POSB application or your passbook, your bank balance is placed on a public ledger.For example, when you send money to John, everyone knows, accepts, and sees that the number of BTC in John's account went up and your number of BTC goes down.Everything happens within 10 minutes.There's no dispute about how much you have or how much John has.The entire network provides instant, fast transfer of value.Each transaction that happens goes on a "to-be-confirmed" list.Miners (people with supercomputers) run a software that will then organise these transactions into a block and publish that block after they solve a math problem.This problem relies on the computer to take exactly 10 minutes to solve.For their work, the miners receive a bunch of bitcoins.However, some merchants do allow for instant confirmation if you are transacting in small amounts.

Wait, everyone can see how much bitcoin I have?Everyone can see how much bitcoin an address has, but only you know which address belongs to you.You can, however, share your address with others.It's useful to think of a bitcoin address like an email address or a bank account number.Is Bitcoin really anonymous?At CoinHako, like many other bitcoin companies, we value the need for Know Your Customer (KYC) regulations.Hence, we require customers verify their identities before they buy bitcoins.This helps us flag out suspicious activities and help law enforcers track down criminals.If anything, using bitcoin makes it easier to trace malevolent actors as all transactions are on a online ledger for all to see.Click here if you want to find out more.How do you set the price of a bitcoin?The price of a bitcoin is set by different bitcoin exchanges and based on the market forces of supply and demand.We follow the prices set by exchanges.What is 2-factor authorisation (2FA)?

2FA refers to the technology that adds a layer of verfication before you can log into your online wallet.When you activate 2FA, you need to go through 2 login processes instead of just 1: The usual login process, where you enter your password and username Logging in using your token-generated OTP (one-time password) Why do I need 2FA?This way, hackers will need physical access to your token to compromise your account.Hence, setting up 2FA will greatly increase the security of your wallet.We also recommend that you change your password every six months but we know you won't do that.So please, at least activate your 2FA.For a fuller understanding of 2FA, click here How to buy bitcoins?Sign up for an account Activate your account Deposit fiat money into your account via Xfers, local inter-bank transfer, or international wire transfer Click on the green "BUY BITCOIN" button Enter the amount you would like to buy in fiat money For more, refer to this guide If you still don't know how, drop us a question at the chat box below.

How to sell bitcoins?Click on the red "SELL BITCOIN" button Enter the amount you would like to sell in bitcoins Your money will be deposited back into you CoinHako wallet in fiat money For more, refer to this guide If you still don't know how, well too bad.Nah, we kid, just drop us a question at the chat box below!What are the fees?We only charge 0.9% for each transaction that converts bitcoins into fiat money, and vice versa.There are no fees to set up a wallet or receive bitcoins.Sending bitcoins will incur a miner's fee that typically ranges from a fraction of a cent to a few cents.How long will each transaction take?Depositing money into the wallet will vary according to the method you use.Xfers will be the fastest option.Snail mailing cash to us is not an option (just in case, you were wondering).Withdrawing money from the wallet will take up to 3 business days.Buying and selling bitcoins will be instant.Receiving bitcoins will take around 30 minutes (or the time taken for 3 confirmations).

Sending bitcoins will be instant.I deposited money via Xfers and it's not showing up.Depositing sums above 100 SGD via Xfers would require a level one verification.Hence, Xfers will take some time to process the deposit.On that note, depositing even larger sums will require more verification and time.If you run into this problem, please log into your Xfers account and check if they require additional verification.Is there a minimum sum to buy or sell bitcoins?We'd require a minimum sum of 1 SGD per buy/sell transaction.Is there a maximum sum to buy or sell bitcoins?No, however if you wish to trade more than 200 SGD worth of bitcoins, you will need to verify your account with us.How do I verify an account?Please send in these 2 things: Full colour, high resolution of the front and back of your ID* (e.g.passport, employment pass, IC) Proof of address (e.g.a scan of your telephone or utilities bill) *We accept passports and official IDs only Can I buy bitcoins in currencies other than SGD?