Crypto 101: What the hell is Bitcoin?

Want to know more about Bitcoin? Read on...

There's a lot of talk floating around social media, and every news outlet in existence, lately about Bitcoin. Some people have good things to say, others have not so good things to say. Hopefully, this post will give you a brief understanding of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency in general.

So what is Bitcoin and why all the fuss?

Bitcoin is a type of digital currency that is stored completely electronically. No government or institution controls it, it's not printed, and only a certain amount can ever be created. No printing money out of thin air with Bitcoin...

Bitcoin was created by a really smart person who goes by the name of Satoshi Nakamoto. He wanted to create a decentralized currency that can make electronic peer to peer payment processing possible. In 2009, he succeeded and Bitcoin was born.

How is Bitcoin created?

Unlike fiat currencies, cryptocurrencies are completely digital and cannot be printed. Bitcoin is created by a community of people using their computer's power to approve and disapprove transactions on the Bitcoin network. This process is called "mining". Basically, people mine Bitcoin with their computers by solving complex mathematical problems. Miners are given Bitcoin as a reward for their efforts. The faster the miner's computer, the more Bitcoin they're likely to receive. Anyone can join this community. You can literally be up and mining Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies today.

Why Bitcoin?

Bitcoin was the first of many cryptocurrencies. It has been the most widely adopted cryptocurrency so far. One Bitcoin is currently worth about $3870 at the time of writing this post. Many experts say that the price of Bitcoin could be worth over $25,000 one day (Business Insider, 2017). There's no way to know what the price will be for sure, but the potential for Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are huge!

One of the major benefits of Bitcoin is that it's transparent. It's built on top of a public ledger called blockchain. No one can change or edit the blockchain without sending any red flags. Every time new Bitcoin is mined, the blockchain is validated and updated. Basically, Bitcoin is really secure.

You can send Bitcoin anywhere in the world and the transaction takes place in minutes. Sending Bitcoin is fast and you don't have to worry about paying enormous fees that traditional money transfer companies like Western Union charge.

Cryptocurrencies, in general, are revolutionary and provide a more secure way to transact money.

So that's Bitcoin in a nutshell. Stay tuned for more cryptocurrency info in another Crypto 101 post (coming soon...)!

References

Garber, J. (2017, May 04). Bitcoin just soared to a new $1,600 high - but the first investor in Snapchat thinks it could hit $500,000 by 2030. Retrieved September 17, 2017, from http://www.businessinsider.com/bitcoin-price-could-be-500000-by-2030-first-snapchat-investor-says-2017-3