Bitcoin: Can It Become An Alternate Currency?

On May 31, 2016, the price of Bitcoin, a digital currency, rose to more than $500 per unit, the highest recorded value since September 2014 (Refer to Exhibit I). The total number of bitcoins in circulation was estimated to be 15.5 million with a market capitalization of approximately $8.5 billion. Since its launch in 2009, Bitcoin had found support from people who had been excluded from the financial system due to regulatory issues, those who supported privacy in monetary transactions, and people who believed excess money printed by the government was at the cost of the public.