Bitcoins: The Future of Online Spending?

By Sami Von Gober

Nowadays, a growing number of tasks
are completed online from shopping, to
paying bills, or watching cat videos on
YouTube. The convenience factor plays
a large role in the reason the majority of
people prefer online shopping and bank-
ing over traditional practices.
As cases of hacking and identity theft
become more prevalent in the digital
world, many wonder if using credit cards
to purchase services and objects online is
safe anymore.
In 2008, Satoshi Nakamoto, an
enigmatical fgure whose true identity
remains a secret, developed a proposal
that would supposedly solve this issue,
(along with many others,) and named his
creation Bitcoin.
The Bitcoin system is basically a
peer-to-peer payment system of online
currency; specifcally termed as cryp-
tocurrency, because it utilizes cryptog-
raphy, the art of writing and solving
codes, to supervise the production and
transfer of money.
The worlds frst decentralized cryp-
tocurrency without a central authority,
Bitcoin, is essentially composed of three
major components: balances, transactions,
and processing.
First, a payment is submitted from
one Bitcoin wallet to another. Next,
participants termed miners verify the
transaction into a shared public database
called a block chain. The frst miner that
composes a cryptographic hash (simply
an action that transforms a collection of
data) is rewarded with 50 newly minted
bitcoins that are then added to their own
personal wallet.
According to Timothy May, a retired
Intel physicist, the Bitcoin system was
designed to instate digital privacy and
to alter the nature of corporations
and of government interference in
economic transactions.
Similar to any economic system,
bitcoins are only as valuable as people
perceive them to be. As a result,
Bitcoin creators are looking for the
support of a variety of demographics,
including teenagers.
Bitcoins allow teens to acquire In-
ternet purchasing power. As opposed to
borrowing a parents credit card, parents
can now send an allowance to their
teens Bitcoin account.
Other perks of Bitcoins
include financial privacy, the
promotion of money manage-
ment, and opportunities that
allow teens to interact in the
marketplace economically.
Bitcoins easy accessibility and
fast exchange make them a viable
payment option for well-established
companies looking to increase their
profts and overall market.
Companies such as Overstock.
com and US Hobby Arts & Crafts
have embraced bitcoins with open
arms, expanding buying options for
bitcoin users.
Other big buck companies
jumping on the bitcoin bandwagon
include, Nike, Target, and Walmart;
allowing the purchase of material
goods via gift cards.
While the future of bitcoins
remains a conundrum in itself,
one thing is for sure: bitcoins
have no chance of becoming a
success without the support of
the U.S. government.
Courtesy of: TECHdotMN





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13
By Lindsey Rocha
The first
exclusive-
to-seniors
event of
the year
is fast
approach-
ing. Road
to Reality,
an event
sponsored
by So-
roptimist
Interna-
tional of
Sonoma
Valley,
is a fun event that teaches the senior
class life skills that will help them
move into adulthood.
This annual event will take place on
Feb. 6 at the Sonoma Veterans Memorial
Hall. It is open to seniors at both SVHS
and Creekside High School. It is expected
to be a day flled with food, prizes, and
valuable information that the seniors will
use to guide them in making the right
choices for their future.
There will be a series of speakers,
designed to inform the senior students
about what should be expected in a world
without their parents.
This year, there will be more speakers
than previous years to discuss topics such
as, fnancing, passions, what to expect
in adulthood, and plenty of other advice
to help students planning on attending a
four-year college or junior college.
One of the fve speakers, James Berry,
will be speaking about how social
media and technology affect teens in
growing up.
This event has been planned all school
year by a student committee of seniors,
which includes: Lisa Barry, Itzel Mace-
donio, Dante Monterosso, Jack Murphy,
Oscar Ramirez, Lindsey Rocha and Tashi
Sherpa. Mrs. Lisa Conner of the College
and Career Center, and two representa-
tives from the Soroptimist group also
helped plan this years Road to Reality.
The committee has determined all of the
content, as well as the cool prizes.
Artwork by:
Chris Lohnes
Just around the corner...
Road to Reality