Bitcoin is an entirely virtual currency that has the ability to transcend national borders and online payment portals, such as PayPal, like no other currency can. Last year $150 million could have bought you every single Bitcoin in circulation. Today, the global supply of Bitcoin is worth approximately $10 billion (Foley 1). As the value of currencies has increased, so has the conflict between those who are content with the current financial system and those who are not. In the battle for the future of the global financial system there are two teams. banks are confronted by libertarian businessmen and technologists. I'm with the technologists; I think Bitcoin will become an even bigger part of the financial system. Bitcoin separates itself from traditional financial systems with the system it uses to verify transactions. To verify user transactions, each Bitcoin transfer is added to the blockchain. When funds are sent to another Bitcoin user, the transaction is locked along with other recent Bitcoin transactions and then locked with a complex mathematical equation. The unverified transactions then remain in escrow while high-performance computers, called nodes or miners, work to solve the equation that blocks the group of transactions. Once the equation is solved, the transactions are released from escrow as verified transactions, the miner who successfully solves the equation receives a reward of 25 bitcoins, and the solved block of transactions is added to the block chain, a book of virtual history of every bitcoin transaction that has ever taken place (Bryans 447). For proponents of the currency this means that it is possible to completely avoid the world banking system, currency exchanges that purchase goods around the world, and online escrow service... middle of paper..." on guard against the risk of Bitcoin Notice'"]. The People's Bank of China. The People's Bank of China, 3 December 2013. Web. 2 April. 2014.20131205153156832222251_.html>.Yuzhe, Zhang, and Li Xiaoxiao. “PBOC Rule Means Bitcoin Websites in China Must Shut Down, Expert Says.” Caxian.com, March 27, 2014. Web. 2014.2014-03-27/100657518.html>.Wiley, Robe. “Warren Buffet: Staying away from Bitcoin is a mirage.” Business insider, 14 March 2014 Web. bitcoin-is-a-mirage-2014-3>. McMillan, Robert Inside Story of Mt. Gox, $450,000 Bitcoin Disaster." Wired. Wired, March 3, 2014. Web. April 8. 2014. .