401.1 Lesson - bitcoinDrawbacks

Screen: bitcoinDrawbacks

Headline: Drawbacks of Bitcoin

Reward: 2

Text: Bitcoin, the world's most widely used and valuable digital currency, allows anyone to send value without a trusted intermediary.

There are, however, some drawbacks to bitcoin's design which prioritizes security and decentralization at the cost of scalability.

Transactions confirmed on the bitcoin blockchain take up to one hour before they are irreversible.

Micropayments, or payments less than a few cents, are inconsistently confirmed, and fees render such transactions unviable on the network today.

Currently, Bitcoin's blockchain can process around 3 transactions per second. This is generally seen as an impediment for Bitcoin to become a currency that facilitates the everyday retail transactions of millions around the world.

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QUIZ

Question: What is a drawback of Bitcoin's design?

Answer: It takes too long to confirm transactions

Feedback: Correct! Great job! You may be pleased to hear that solutions have been deployed to improve the settlement time of Bitcoin payments to a few seconds.

Correct: true

Answer: It is difficult to use

Feedback: Wrong! But you are forgiven, Bitcoin is actually very easy to use. Try again

Correct: false

Answer: It is not a trusted intermediary

Feedback: Wrong! But don't worry, Bitcoin actually allows anyone to send value without a trusted intermediary. Try again!

Correct: false