What is Bitcoin?
Bitcoin is a payment system introduced as open-source software in 2009 by developer Satoshi Nakamoto. The payments in the system are recorded in a public ledger using its own unit of account, which is also called bitcoin. Payments work peer-to-peer without a central repository or single administrator, which has led the US Treasury to call bitcoin a decentralized virtual currency. Although its status as a currency is disputed, media reports often refer to bitcoin as a cryptocurrency or digital currency.
Bitcoin and Crypto Currencies are digital forms of electronic money. They are different to the traditional fiat money system in three key ways: transactions are anonymous, you can create your own wallet bank account in minutes and the network is decentralised run through consensus of its participants.
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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.
Besides mining, bitcoins can be obtained in exchange for fiat money, 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.
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. Unlike credit cards, any fees are paid by the purchaser not the vendor. Bitcoins can be stolen and chargebacks are impossible. Commercial use of bitcoin is currently small compared to its use by speculators, which has fueled price volatility.
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.
"In China, buying bitcoins with yuan is subject to restrictions, and bitcoin exchanges are not allowed to hold bank accounts."
Bitcoin and other crypto currencies are also anonymous – you can set up a wallet in minutes and start receiving or giving Bitcoin via your personal address number. Any transaction you do make shows up on the blockchain- the central ledger of all transactions ever made! So you are anonymous in one sense but if anyone knows what your address is then they can discover your entire transaction history.
Bitcoin itself is designed to lower the amount of bitcoins produced every ten minutes – after mining a block – by 50% every four years. In other crypto currencies the reward for mining each block is kept constant or can vary in whichever way the developer decides. Unlike governments who can print cash to encourage inflation, or devalue their currency or debt, Bitcoin is not subject to these external forces.
Bitcoin was created by Satoshi Nakomoto in 2009 to produce a currency that wasn’t controlled by any Government. Bitcoin, and all other crypto currencies, are run by its users and miners and print new money through mining by validating the transactions in a specific period of time. The rate of new money being printed is designed in the DNA of the crypto currency, and with Bitcoin there is a hard cap of 21 million Bitcoins ever to be produced which are then divisible into satoshi, or 100,000,000th of one Bitcoin.
Governments and regulators don’t necessarily like Bitcoin – especially in emerging markets – where the onus is on stopping money from leaving the country and keeping it for internal investment. In Western more developed Governments there are fears due to its anonymity not complying with money laundering procedures and potentially providing a means for illegal activities such as terrorism or the drug trade. That said, the more liberal western governments see Bitcoin and crypto currencies as an innovative technology that could provide a means for furthering trade, increasing competition in the banking industry, and more.
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