What are the true advantages of Bitcoin?

Privacy is a major benefit of Bitcoin. All online transactions online through centralised intermediaries usually require an array of information to identify the person conducting the transaction. This is the opposite to Bitcoin in which all transactions are pseudonymous, meaning that Bitcoin transactions can only be identified by using a blockchain address, in which an individual can have multiple.

An advantage of Bitcoin is payment freedom. It is entirely possible for any individual or entity at any place, any time, in the world to send and receive any amount of bitcoins. No central banks, no government, no bureaucracy in the way to place fees and delay transactions, allowing all bitcoin users to be in full control at all times. This is the opposite to conventional fiat currencies that are subject to multiple inherent restrictions and risks such as being vulnerable to any boom and bust cycles in the economy (we saw this with the Global Financial Crisis in 2008). Additionally, bitcoin transactions are conducted on a peer-to-peer basis meaning they do not incur banking fees, have low transaction fees and payments are mobile. Unless using an exchange or institution, sending Bitcoin to and from other wallet addresses does not require an external source or authority to provide approval. This creates low transaction costs as well as eliminating the inconvenience of typical authorisation requirements and wait periods. Furthermore, there should be no deposit fees, withdrawal fees, or traditional banking fees associated with fiat currencies.