Instead of working at a restaurant or shop, sophomore Charlie Ramsdell goes to www.coinbase.com to make money. Since September, Ramsdell has invested in digital currencies like Bitcoins and doubled his money.

Bitcoin is the first decentralized digital cryptocurrency, meaning it’s not controlled by a government. It is a digital cryptocurrency that allows users to transfer money via the internet without any middlemen.

Since its creation in early 2009, one Bitcoin has grown in worth from less than $1 to over $20,000 on Dec. 7, 2017, according to the New York Times. The exponential growth started in 2017, with Bitcoin processing $2 billion worth of transactions every day, a 10-fold increase in 2017, Forbes Magazine reported.

Since the supply of Bitcoins has remained the same, business teacher Dennis Koch said their value is increasing because of the increase in demand.

“Bitcoin is, in a sense, the new phenomenon,” Koch said. “(It) involves really a lot of speculation on behalf of American people and the world to invest in a new currency.”

According to www.coincentral.com, the Coinbase app and website is one of the most popular exchanges that sells Bitcoins because the interface is beginner friendly. However, trading fees on Coinbase are higher than on other exchanges that Ramsdell uses like Poloniex.

Because Bitcoin isn’t backed by any government, it technically has no value. Koch said people accept Bitcoins because others accept and trade it. He added that the cryptocurrency is reconfiguring the investing world because more students like Ramsdell are getting interested in Bitcoin and investment.

“I think it’s great for students because it has aroused interest in investing for them, albeit it’s a little bit risky, but at least students are talking about investing,” Koch said. “It’s giving students some exposure to the world of investing and has them interested in learning more about business and learning more about stocks and their futures, which in a sense to me are all good things.”

Although Bitcoin has dramatically increased in value, senior Daruk Garlapati said Bitcoin is too volatile. He did a project on the currency for AP Macroeconomics and is interested in investing, but said he wouldn’t invest in Bitcoin because of its fluctuating price. He added that if students are properly experienced and know how to invest in stocks, they should invest in the currency.

“Investing in it can be very risky. It could either go very high in a day, or it could crash, or the price could go very low,and that could be very harmful to interact with,” Garlapati said. “It’s very risky, and it could possibly make students lose a lot of money.”

Koch hasn’t invested in Bitcoin either. He agrees with Garlapati and said student and intermediate investors usually cannot establish enough research about an investment like Bitcoin, so they should avoid buying it.

Koch said he teaches his business classes about Bitcoin and added that in class, students compete in an online stock market game called MarketWatch where the goal is to invest $100,000 in any stock. He said this experience allows them to have exposure to Bitcoin and other stocks.

Even though Ramsdell said he won’t buy more Bitcoins, he plans on continuing to invest in lesser-known currencies like Nav Coin. He added that though it’s a currency, he only uses Bitcoin as an investment and enjoys the volatility of it.

“I think students are some of the best people to invest in Bitcoin because they don’t really have any financial risk at the moment,” Ramsdell said. “They would probably be the most practical people to invest.”  

Even if students don’t invest in Bitcoin, Koch said investing is important early on. He added that he’s interested in the outcome of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

“It’s going to be an interesting ride. It’s so new and so different,” he said. “The world’s greatest economists and investors still don’t have 100 percent of their finger on top of it, so stay tuned month-by-month to see what’s going to happen. I’m curious. I’m excited about it.”