Bitcoin is a trustless decentralized currency that was created in 2009 by an unknown person using the alias Satoshi Nakamoto. Transactions are made with no middle men – meaning, no banks!
Bitcoin can be used to book hotels on Expedia, shop for furniture on Overstock and buy Xbox games. But much of the hype over the years has been about getting rich by trading it.
The price of bitcoin skyrocketed to over $60,000 per bitcoin in 2021.
The creator of bitcoin remains anonymous.
The person or people who created Bitcoin have never been identified.
It is believed that Satoshi Nakamoto, the name used by the creator of Bitcoin, is a pseudonym and not a real person. The name appears to have been chosen from a James Bond film – it is based on Satoshi Nakamoto, the character in the 1974 film “You Only Live Twice” who was both Japanese and named Satoshi.
The identity of Nakamoto has been widely debated but no definitive evidence has emerged to confirm or refute any of the theories that have been put forward. Some believe he could be Nick Szabo, who had previously written about Bitcoin before it existed (Szabo denied being Nakamoto). Others think it could be Gavin Andresen, one of Bitcoin’s core developers since its earliest days (Andresen has also denied being Nakamoto).
A popular theory is that whoever invented bitcoin was involved in cryptography before doing so – because bitcoin uses cryptographic techniques like public key encryption/decryption methods which were developed years earlier by people such as Whitfield Diffie and Martin Hellman at Stanford University during 1977-1978 when they wrote their paper “New Directions In Cryptography” which appeared in IEEE Transactions On Information Theory during March 1979 issue where they presented key exchange protocols using asymmetric cryptography algorithms like RSA.
There is also a growing cult of people that believe the self-proclaimed inventor of Bitcoin, Craig Wright is the mastermind behind Bitcoin. Wright however has yet ot be able to sufficently prove he is Satoshi and his continual desire to destroy anyone who contests his claims through legal action makes me believe he is full of s**t.
Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency that is generated through a computer algorithm.
Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency. That’s something of a mouthful, but it just means that Bitcoin is a digital currency. It’s not issued by any central bank or government; instead, the entire Bitcoin network functions collectively to process and verify transactions on the network using cryptography (the science of making secure communication).
Bitcoin is generated through a computer algorithm called mining. Mining secures the network for users by verifying transactions on its blockchain—a public ledger that tracks all confirmed transactions ever made with Bitcoin.
Mining also helps create new Bitcoins by providing incentive for people to dedicate hardware and electricity towards solving mathematical algorithms required for generating new blocks in the blockchain.
Bitcoin can be exchanged for real-world currencies.
Bitcoin can be exchanged for real-world currencies. The value of bitcoin relative to another currency is called the exchange rate. Exchange rates fluctuate—sometimes wildly—so it’s important to understand what you’re paying for when you buy or sell bitcoins.
For example, if you bought a dollar’s worth of bitcoin in 2017 and cashed out at the beginning of 2018, your bitcoin would have been worth about $12 million at that time. But if you sold it in mid-January 2019, it would have been valued at only about $9 million USD instead! On the other hand, if someone bought $100 worth of bitcoin in early 2016 and then cashed out at its peak in late 2017 or early 2018 (just before prices started their journey downward), they’d be sitting on around $16 million right now!
Because cryptocurrency markets are so volatile it attracts speculators who are looking to make a quick buck, rather than true believers in the technology itself.
Bitcoin is not issued by any central bank or government.
Bitcoin is not issued by any central bank or government. It is a decentralized form of currency, meaning that it exists independently from the control of any single entity.
The Bitcoin network itself is run by a collection of computers that contribute their power to solving complex math problems and verifying transactions. This process ensures that everyone on the network agrees about which transactions are valid and which are not, preventing people from spending Bitcoins they don’t have and making sure that no one can spend more than they have.
Because it’s not backed by any government or central bank, Bitcoin has been criticized as a tool for money laundering and illicit activities like buying drugs online (though some argue this hasn’t been proven, and, who really cares!). Nevertheless, many people believe strongly in its potential to make commerce easier and more honest worldwide—and that’s just one reason why you should learn all about it!
Bitcoins are created by computers solving complex algorithms.
Bitcoins are generated by computers solving complex algorithms. The difficulty of the algorithm is adjusted so that the number of bitcoins created is limited, and this ensures that there can never be more than 21 million bitcoins in existence.
The process of generating bitcoins is called mining. Bitcoin miners run software on specialized computers that compete with each other to solve math problems and earn new ‘bitcoins’ as a reward for their work. Miners will use large amounts of electricity to power their computers and keep them running 24 hours a day, 7 days per week in order to increase their chances of earning bitcoin rewards.
The value of bitcoin ebbs and flows based on supply and demand—the more people who want bitcoins, the higher its value will go; conversely if fewer people want bitcoins then its price will fall.
The price can fluctuate greatly between different exchanges and over time as well. For example, in early April 2013 one bitcoin was worth around $150 USD on MtGox but only $120 USD on Bitstamp. Prices have been known to fluctuate widely based on news events such as regulatory changes, new laws, negative press coverage and other factors driving public perception of crypto-currencies:
In early 2014 prices hovered around $500 per Bitcoin but rose steadily during 2015 before reaching an all-time high at over $1,200 before dropping back down again towards the end of 2016 after China banned ICOs (initial coin offerings) which many believed would impact Chinese trading volumes in Bitcoin exchange markets elsewhere across Asia Pacific region
Bitcoin can be used as a currency but it isn’t backed by any government entity.
Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency that can be exchanged for real-world currencies. It’s not issued by any central bank or government. Instead, bitcoins are created by computers solving complex algorithms and stored in a digital wallet on your computer or mobile device.
Bitcoin was invented in 2009 and released as an open-source software in early 2010. Since then, hundreds of other cryptocurrencies have been created for various purposes ranging from fundraising to tax evasion to outright scams.
You can use Bitcoin to pay for items from a cup of coffee at Starbucks to thousands of dollars worth of goods from Amazon or even buy Bitcoin itself through an exchange service like Coinbase if you want to invest in it long term.
Conclusion
Bitcoin is a very interesting and controversial concept that has been around since 2009. There are many people who believe that it is the future of currency, but there are also many who don’t see why anyone should trust such an unstable and unpredictable investment.
What do you think? Is cryptocurrency here to stay, or just a passing fad?
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