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BitcoinBitcoin: All You Need To Know

Bitcoin

Bitcoin

Bitcoin

Bitcoin is form of digital currency/virtual currency, unlike the traditional notes and coins. It is probably world’s first cryptocurrency.

Bitcoins took the internet by storm when Satoshi Nakamoto introduced it into the world as an open source software in 2009. Since bitcoin is open source, it is not owned by any authority and anyone can take part in it.

Also the transactions are completely secure and the whole bitcoin system is peer-to-peer, meaning users can directly transact with each other without the need of an intermediary like banks. Here is an informative presentation on bitcoins by Wesley Yuhn

http://www.slideshare.net/WesleyYuhn1/bitcoin1-51503865

Bitcoin

Why use bitcoin?

As Wesley Yuhn rightly states “Hmm…more like why not?” Bitcoin is made for our internet crazy generation. Bitcoin is probably the safest currency there is. As stated earlier, bitcoin is a decentralised cryptocurrency, meaning it uses cryptography to secure the transactions and also generation of new units. But that is not the most appealing thing about bitcoins.

Bitcoin

Bitcoins transactions provide you with an anonymity that other forms of financial transactions could never do. You do not need to provide personal details like name, phone number, and email address to transact using bitcoins.

All Bitcoin transactions are stored in a public list, but the list does not store any personal details, only the transaction id and the amount of currency transferred, thus making all transactions anonymous. Also, bitcoin transaction is fast and is not subject to inflation as only a fixed number of bitcoins will be minted.

Bitcoin

How do I get my hands on bitcoins?

Well the first thing you need is a bitcoin wallet. Since bitcoin is a digital currency, you need a place to store it and that place is the bitcoin wallet – more like a bank account. You can choose your computer hardrive or the cloud as your bitcoin wallet.

Once you get a wallet, you can get your hands on bitcoin by accepting them as payment of goods or you can buy them from someone you know or a bitcoin exchange in exchange of real money. Or you can just mine bitcoins. Find more about bitcoins at http://www.scoop.it/u/wesley-yuhn-1

Bitcoin

Bitcoin mining

Bitcoin mining is an innovative way of generating new currency. As mentioned earlier, bitcoin transactions are made stored in public and that is done to make sure no one copies a previously issued bitcoin and uses it over and over again. Thus, someone must keep track of all the payments ever made by bitcoin and store it

Bitcoin

That is where bitcoin miners come in. They collect all the transactions done in a set period of time, verify it and store them in a public ledger. The ledger is a long list of transactions (called blocks) and they are stored digitally.

Thus, it must be secured so that no can tamper with it. It is the miners’ job to generate a unique code – called the hash – for each blocks and then attach it to the hash of the previous block. The hash is generated using a specific algorithm and after hashing, the transaction becomes gibberish to the normal eye.

Bitcoin

Miners get paid in bitcoins (25 bitcoins for each block) and that way new bitcoins are minted. This provides a smart way to issue the currency and also creates an incentive for more people to mine.

As Wesley Yuhn correctly states “Though you may never become a millionaire, if you’re good at solving math puzzles, you can soon be a bitcoin highflyer.”

Bitcoin

http://www.scoop.it/t/ecommerce-by-wesley-yuhn-1

http://www.scoop.it/t/bitcoin-by-wesley-yuhn-1

http://www.scoop.it/t/fintech-by-wesley-yuhn-1