Recently some Bitcoin. It took seven days for my purchased fraction of the virtual and decentralized currency to arrive in my wallet.
Now, finally, comes the fun part: spending it.
Less than a year ago Bitcoin was a cryptocurrency with a shady reputation. Today, there鈥檚 a surprising amount of stuff you can buy with it 鈥� everything from accent tables at Overstock.com to 100 percent Bamboo socks.
Thanks to , I know in Northern Colorado that , or even a custom wine blend.
We have a winner.
It actually took me longer to pick out my wine blend then to make my purchase at . It turns out speed is a factor with virtual money right now.
On that Friday in the wine shop my .02483 Bitcoin was worth $17.95. By the following Monday and the value of Bitcoin dropped 20 percent.
Had I waited, I wouldn't have been able to afford my bottle of Ampelio.
It underscores a key issue with Bitcoin as a currency: volatility. In 2013, one Bitcoin was worth as little as $13. Then the value shot up more than $1,000. , one is worth about $600 鈥� even that could change by the time you read this.
鈥淐urrencies do fluctuate in value over time,鈥� said John Elder, professor of finance at Colorado State University. "Usually that fluctuation is not that great.鈥�
Elder points out one thing about currencies that we take for granted: they鈥檙e pretty reliable at storing value. Bitcoin isn鈥檛 very good at this right now, something the
鈥淲ith Bitcoin that issue of how it鈥檚 going to function as a store of value is just really much more speculative,鈥� said Elder. When he says 鈥渟peculative,鈥� he means it鈥檚 a gamble. Ultimately the value is determined by willingness of people to accept Bitcoin in transactions.
"鈥� and that willingness may disappear quite significantly overnight if people think that other people aren鈥檛 going to take it,鈥� said Elder.
on the future of Bitcoin. Some think the value represents a bubble about to burst. Others continue to invest in it despite the volatility.
As for me, I narrowly escaped losing 20 percent of my Bitcoin. Now that鈥檚 worth toasting.
