History of Bitcoin
Welcome to the world of bitcoins, please make yourself comfortable and relax. All your questions will be explained. This is definitely the place to learn more of the revolutionary new world economy that started in 2009, the year of the release of bitcoins.
There is a extremely fast growing market for bitcoin economy currently, and very limited information. Bitconias mission is to bridge the knowledge gap between the technical savvy and the yet uninformed public.
As any new market, bitcoin economy market is full of confusion, pitfalls and scams. Although one of the biggest exchange markets for bitcoins M. Gox filed for bankruptcy in 2014, the value of bitcoin is still strong and stable .
We hope our knowledge and supplied information will guide you through a reasonably safe financial and investment plan in the growing market.
What is bitcoin?
Bitcoin is the world’s first completely decentralized digital currency. At the time when it was introduced in 2009, knowledge of it was confined to a handful of hobbyists on Internet forums.
Today, the bitcoin economy is larger than the economies of some of the world’s smaller nations. The value of a bitcoin (or BTC) has grown and fluctuated greatly, from pennies in its early days to more than $260 at its peak in April 2013. The current market capitalization of the bitcoin economy is estimated to be more than $1 billion.
The inventor of the currency is known by the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto. Who the individual (or group of individuals) behind the pseudonym is, is currently still a myth or at least not publicly announced.
Bitcoin as a form of payment for products and services has seen growth, and merchants have an incentive to accept the digital currency because fees are lower than the 2–3% typically imposed by credit card processors. The European Banking Authority has warned that bitcoin lacks consumer protections. Bitcoins can be stolen and charge backs are impossible.
Bitcoin has been a subject of scrutiny amid concerns that it can be used for illegal activities. In October 2013 the US FBI shut down the Silk Road online black market and seized 144,000 bitcoins worth US$28.5 million at the time. The US is considered bitcoin-friendly compared to other governments, however. In China, buying bitcoins with yuan is subject to restrictions, and bitcoin exchanges are not allowed to hold bank accounts.
The bitcoin system is not controlled by a single entity, like a government or any central bank. Instead all the transactions are anonymous, encrypted and handled by a decentralized global network of tens of thousands of personal computers. Because bitcoins can be transferred directly from one person to another they are sometimes described as digital cash
Bitcoins are created as a reward for payment processing work in which users offer their computing power to verify and record payments into the public ledger. Called mining, individuals or companies engage in this activity in exchange for transaction fees and newly created bitcoins. The network is designed to generate over 21 million Bitcoins and set up to regulate itself to deal with inflation.
Besides mining, bitcoins can be obtained in exchange for other currencies, products, and services. Users can send and receive bitcoins electronically for an optional transaction fee using wallet software on a personal computer, mobile device, or a web application.