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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've got bitcoin-the-token, a snippet of code that represents ownership of an electronic concept kind of like a virtual IOU. On the other hand, you've got bitcoin-the-protocol, a distributed network that maintains a ledger of balances of bitcoin-the-token.
The machine 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, like dollars or euros theyre made by computers all around the planet, using free software.
It was the very first example of what we call cryptocurrencies, a growing strength class which shares some features of traditional currencies, together 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 generate 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 used to pay for things electronically, if the two 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 it is decentralized. No single institution controls the bitcoin network. It's maintained by a group of volunteer coders, and run by an open network of dedicated computers spread around the world. This brings individuals and groups who are uncomfortable with the control that banks or government institutions have over their money. .
Bitcoin solves the dual spending issue of electronic currencies (in which digital assets can easily be copied and re-used) through 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 these 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 notably citizens with little alternative) keep 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 submitted, the protocol checks all previous transactions to confirm that the sender gets 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 tracked this way. Additionally, law enforcement has developed methods to identify users if necessary.
Additionally, most exchanges are required by law to perform identity checks on their clients before they are permitted to buy or sell bitcoin, facilitating another manner that bitcoin usage can be tracked. Since the network is transparent, the advancement of a specific transaction is visible to all.
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This is because there's no central adjudicator that can say ok, return the money. If a transaction is recorded on the network, and if greater than an hour has passed, it is impossible to modify.
While this may disquiet a few, 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 the way bitcoins are mined, what it can be used for, in addition to how you can buy, sell and store your bitcoin. We also explain a few alternatives to bitcoin, as well as 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. next page It will explain how the system operates, how you can use it to your profit, which scams to avoid. It will also guide you to sources that will help you shop and use your very first pieces of digital currency.