This digital currency has been exploding over the last short while and is now compatible with Apple.
The Bitcoin Wallet was once simply a mobile app for payments that would allow its users to be able to use its own digital currency “bitcoins” to be able to split the tab at restaurants, but it has recently grown in its possibilities and it is taking off around the world.
This smartphone wallet is increasing by a rate of about 5,000 users each day, up from 500 daily at the start of 2013.
The Bitcoin mobile app has found its way into headlines virtually every day last week, including everything from a college student’s incredibly successful effort to use a QR code combined with his wallet to gain payments by holding up a sign during a televised football game to giant national announcements regarding the technology. Mid week, Alan Greenspan, the former Federal Reserve chairperson, discussed his views on the virtual currency. At the end of the week, the central bank in China announced that it was banning financial institutions in the country from handling transactions using Bitcoins. That announcement happened after an 89 percent value increase caused investors in that country to surge in their interest.
Many people feel that this mobile app provides greater payments convenience than what is out there.
The use of the application for making a transaction is essentially as simple as sending a text. This helps to explain why there are now hundreds of different programs using Bitcoins, including both Google Play and the Apple App Store. This is causing many consumers to choose to spend this type of virtual currency for making rapid transactions, instead of opting for cash. This includes splitting a bill at a restaurant or paying for food, but it is expanding into other areas, as well.
The interest that the world is now starting to see in this virtual currency has caused Bitcoins to skyrocket in their value. Last week, they broke all of their own previous records when they exceeded the $1,000 mark. That said, it is believed that the long term success of this mobile app is heavily dependent on how well it is adopted and how it continues to make sure that it is properly configured for use by smartphone and tablet users.
The holiday season is not over, of course, and shopping is expected to continue being a high priority for many consumers through the end of December. eBay anticipates that it will handle some $20 billion in mobile payments this year, with the majority of these payments coming from the holiday season. The retailer has been working to encourage consumers to make mobile payments throughout 2013 and has managed to find some success in this endeavor with the help of PayPal.