Alva Review-Courier -

Bitcoin: cryptocurrency outside the grasp of governments and banks. Bitcoin: creating hysteria as its price soared 85-fold, at times reaching a value of $20,000 for a coin that doesn’t exist.

Stoked by the distrust in financial institutions sown by Wells-Fargo and others, geopolitical unease, and even Brexit, bitcoin use has surged and is an assumed hedge against hyperinflation in countries like Venezuela.

Ransomware attacks often require bitcoin for payment. Currently not traded on the traditional stock market, exchanges are in operation such as Coinbase, which has signed up 12 million custom...