Online shopping has become a huge industry and to avoid having sensitive information banks, credit card companies, and websites have to utilize a ton of security features and even then it doesn't guarantee that your information won't be compromised. Bitcoin offers a unique approach to this security flaw of traditional money. Your bitcoin can only be taken from your control if someone has access to your private key which is impossible to guess and very hard to obtain if you use a reputable wallet.

Regardless of what money you use online, good practice is of primary importance and all things considered it's just far less likely your bitcoin will become compromised. Here are some examples of how it's possible with the traditional money paradigm and with bitcoin.

Credit/Debit Card

• All someone needs is your 16 digit card number, expiration date, 3 digit security code, and your name. All of these things can be obtained by physically stealing the card.

• Storing card information on a website means you trust their system to hold it securely and most of the time it is, however this incentivizes hackers to break into the websites database which gives them access to many users' account information.

• Most cards if physically stolen need to be deleted and a new card has to be issued. On top of it being stolen all the person would have to do is run it through a machine as credit to make a purchase and the money is spent, unless the card is cancelled before this happens.

Bitcoin

• Most bitcoin wallets store the private key on the device so the hacker would have to retrieve it from your actual device with a virus which wouldn't be easy because the key is typically encrypted.

• Keeping your bitcoin on exchange makes your bitcoin easy to steal if a hacker breaks into the exchange's system which, just like the credit card problem, will incentivize hacking into the server.

• If your phone or computer is physically stolen the hacker would typically need to enter a pin code to access the wallet and your funds, or decrypt the private key which is nearly impossible to do.

During a bitcoin transaction there is no point where the private key is exposed for someone to intercept your information. The wallet signs the transaction and it's broadcast over the network and none of that information is sensitive. Credit card information will get encrypted but still leaves an opportunity for your information to be stolen during the transaction.

Credit and debit cards still have a place in online shopping because of how widely accepted they are compared to bitcoin. Bitcoin transactions have also proven to be expensive when the network is congested although that will be solved as lightning network progresses.

Bitcoin offers much higher levels of security and protection against theft and credit/debit cards offer access to more retailers and services as of now. It depends what your use case is whether or not you'll use one or the other.

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