What is a bitcoin?

Bitcoin is a digital currency that was first introduced in January of 2009. It is based on concepts presented in a whitepaper by Satoshi Nakamoto, a mysterious and pseudonymous figure. 1 The identity of the individual or people behind the technology is still unknown. Bitcoin promises reduced transaction costs than standard online payment methods, and unlike government-issued currencies, it is run by a decentralised organisation.
Cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin, are a form of digital currency. There are no actual bitcoins; instead, balances are recorded on a public ledger that everyone can see. A tremendous amount of processing power is used to verify every bitcoin transactions. Bitcoin is neither issued or backed by any banks or governments, and a single bitcoin has no monetary value. Despite the fact that bitcoin is not legal money in most areas of the globe, it is extremely popular and has sparked the creation of hundreds of alternative cryptocurrencies known as altcoins. “BTC” is a popular abbreviation for Bitcoin. The bitcoin system consists on a network of computers (also known as “nodes” or “miners”) that execute bitcoin’s code and store its blockchain. A blockchain may be viewed of as a collection of blocks metaphorically.
Each block contains a set of transactions. No one can trick the system since all computers running the blockchain have the same list of blocks and transactions and can observe these fresh blocks being filled with new bitcoin transactions openly.

Bitcoin are a decentralised currency on the Internet. It’s a currency like dollars or euros, and can be used to buy and sell goods. Bitcoin is a form of digital currency, created and held electronically. No one controls it. Bitcoins aren’t printed, like dollars or euros – they’re produced by people, and increasingly businesses, running computers all around the world, using software that solves mathematical problems.

  • That means that there is no bank or other organisation regulating them (no freezes/charge backs), unlike traditional currencies

  • Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency, which basically is an item of varying worth due to how many people want to buy it, causing the price to rise

  • Bitcoin has no real worth other than the value people associate it, much like gold. Bitcoin can be traded in for fiat which is any currency issued by the government