If the headline confuses you, rest assured that this article is not talking about any mutant, robot, or a new species. But this is certainly the fist of this kind, a baby born with the doctor being paid in digital currency Bitcoin. Dr. Terence Lee who is a fertility expert has introduced the new born to the world, referring him to be the first Bitcoin baby of the world. Dr. Lee has been trying to promote Bitcoin for quite some time and he had even mentioned it as a mode of payments acceptable at his clinic along with cash, cheque, and all credit and debit cards. However, no patient had turned up for any treatment for which he would pay in this digital currency.
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Finally a couple approached Dr. Lee and asked for a baby for themselves (incidentally their fourth) through fertility
treatments offered by him and agreed to pay in Bitcoin. In fact, even in this incident, Dr. Lee had to virtually plead for a payment in Bitcoins as he told the couple that he would give a 50% discount in treatment if the couple agreed to pay in this digital currency. Lee says that the couple did not know about the currency and how it works. He pleaded with many patients to pay him in Bitcoins but the usual reaction of most patients was that they did not know a thing about Bitcoins. Lee says that at times he felt like he was asking his fee to be paid in cocaine or something like that.
Bitcoin is a digital currency that was introduced to the world in 2009. The stocks of the currency are listed in some stock exchanges also and its prices rise and fall like other stocks. This volatility has been cited as one of the reasons why people stay away from owning, buying, and selling this digital currency. In businesses where people want to have a stable currency, this volatility has been a big problem. Even if you have this currency, it remains online and you cannot hope to keep it in your wallet.
Lee said at the Bitcoin 2013 conference that though he listed Bitcoin as a mode of payment outside his office, no one ever offered a payment in this digital currency. What is more, no one ever asked him about Bitcoin even. Interestingly the value of Bitcoins has risen drastically in the last few months. While they were available at $10 each only a few months ago, you have to pay an astronomical sum of $115 for a single Bitcoin today.
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Now you know that the Bitcoin baby is really a misnomer as this perfectly normal baby’s conception and arrival in this world was funded by a digital currency called Bitcoin. The baby is actually a result of a fascination for this digital currency of a fertility expert. But whether he likes it or not as he grows up, the cute smiling baby is the world’s first Bitcoin baby who has actually been brought into this world by making payment with Bitcoins.
