Bitcoin is a type of cryptocurrency that was created by anonymous people dubbed as Satoshi Nakamoto in 2009. It was created just after the housing market crush to facilitate instant payments. The cryptocurrency was the first one of its type to successfully keep record of transactions on a secure decentralized blockchain technology.
The ‘blockchain’ technology is a shared database of transactions whose records are confirmed and encrypted. ‘Miners’ are the ones who secure transactions through high-powered computers to verify them. Bitcoin software is freely available online. Transactions involving bitcoin doesn’t involve middlemen or banks.
There are no bitcoins that exist physically, but are kept in the form of balances on a public ledger that is accessible to everybody with the interest of accessing it.
Bitcoin can be bought or sold using different currencies. There are various currency exchanges where clients can swap cash for bitcoin. Some of the exchanges include Coinbase, Bitstamp and Gemini. Applications such as BitPay allow users to convert bitcoin funds in a digital wallet to pay for goods and services based on traditional monies used by retailers.
People are able to transfer bitcoins to each other through computers and apps on mobile phones. The procedure is the same as the one of sending cash digitally.
Bitcoins can be created through the process of ‘mining.’ The procedure includes solving complex mathematics puzzle.
The cryptocurrency is stored in a ‘digital wallet’ which is either hosted over the cloud or on a computer. The wallet acts as a ‘virtual bank account’ that enables users to send and receive bitcoins. The user is also able to purchase goods and services or save the funds for future use.
The complexity of bitcoin transactions is that it doesn’t reveal the identities of the buyers and sellers. However, the transactions are recorded in a public log which only reveals the wallet IDs.
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