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To cut through some of this confusion surrounding bitcoin, we need to separate it into two components. On the one hand, you have bitcoin-the-token, a snippet of code which represents ownership of a digital concept sort of like a virtual IOU. On the other hand, you have bitcoin-the-protocol, a distributed network that maintains a ledger of balances of bitcoin-the-token.
The system enables payments to be sent between users without passing through a central authority, like a bank or payment gateway. It's made and kept electronically. Bitcoins arent printed, for example dollars or euros theyre produced by computers all around the planet, using free software.
It was the first example of what we call cryptocurrencies, a growing asset class which shares several features of traditional currencies, with verification based on cryptography.
A pseudonymous software developer going by the name of Satoshi Nakamoto proposed bitcoin in 2008, as an electronic payment system based on mathematical proof. The idea was to produce a means of exchange, independent of any central authority, that could be transferred electronically in a secure, verifiable and immutable way.
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Bitcoin can be utilized to cover things electronically, if both parties are willing. In that sense, its similar to conventional dollars, euros, or yen, which can also be traded digitally.
Bitcoins most important feature is that it is decentralized. No single institution controls the bitcoin network. It is maintained by a group of volunteer coders, and run by an open network of dedicated servers spread around the globe. This brings individuals and groups who are uncomfortable with all the control that banks or government institutions have over their money. .
Bitcoin simplifies the dual spending issue of electronic currencies (in which digital assets can readily be replicated and re-used) via an ingenious combination of cryptography and economic incentives. In electronic fiat currencies, this function is fulfilled by banks, which gives them control over the traditional system. Together with bitcoin, the integrity of the transactions is maintained by a distributed and open network, owned by no-one. .
Fiat currencies (dollars, euros, yen, etc.) have an unlimited supply central banks can issue as many as they want, and can attempt to manipulate a currencys value relative to other people. Holders of the currency (and especially citizens with very little alternative) bear the cost.
Even though senders of traditional electronic payments are often identified (for verification purposes, and to comply with anti-money laundering and other legislation), users of bitcoin in concept operate in semi-anonymity. Since there is no central validator, users do not need to identify themselves when sending bitcoin to another user. When a transaction request is filed, the protocol checks all prior transactions to confirm that the sender has the necessary bitcoin in addition to the ability to send them.
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In practice, every user is identified by the address of his or her wallet. Transactions can, with some effort, be monitored this way. Additionally, law enforcement has developed methods to identify users if necessary.
Furthermore, most exchanges are required by law to perform identity checks on their customers before they're permitted to buy or sell bitcoin, blog here facilitating another way that bitcoin utilization can be monitored. Since the see page network is transparent, the advancement of a specific transaction is observable to all.
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This is because there's no central adjudicator that can say okay, return the money. When a transaction is listed on the network, and when more than an hour has passed, then it is not possible to change.
While this may disquiet some, it does mean that any transaction on the bitcoin network cannot be tampered with.
The smallest unit of a bitcoin is called a satoshi. It is one hundred millionth of a bitcoin (0.00000001) at todays prices, about one hundredth of a cent. This could conceivably enable microtransactions that traditional electronic money cannot.
Read more to find out how bitcoin transactions are processed and how bitcoins are mined, what it can be used for, in addition to how you can purchase, sell and store your bitcoin. We also explain a few alternatives to bitcoin, in addition to how its underlying technology the blockchain works. .
If you want to know what is Bitcoin, the way you can get it and how it can help you, without floundering into technical details, this guide is for you. It will explain how the system operates, how you can use it for your profit, which scams to avoid. It will also direct you to resources which will enable you to store and use your very first parts of digital currency.