By Larry Wright
Bitcoin is a famous digital currency with a decentralized system. Bitcoin was invented by Satoshi Nakamoto owing to the financial disaster back in 2008. People started buying BTC after that crisis, and this cryptocurrency gained popularity within no time around the world. Nowadays, everyone is thinking of converting physical cash into Bitcoin, but most are unfamiliar with the working principles and trends. Before buying any currency, especially BTC, having some basic knowledge can help you make the right decision. In that regard, this article will tell you everything about Bitcoin and how it works.
In 2007 and 2008, worldwide financial crises occurred, and liquidity in these markets reduced due to a downfall of housing markets. When the world was fighting against a recession, the white paper started working on digital money based on DLT, called a blockchain. It was the first time a fully functional P2P digital payment system was introduced to allow individuals to gain some financial independence. BTC is independent of any authority, and we call it cryptocurrency. Cryptocurrency transactions are encrypted and transformed into ciphertext to protect the assets and valuable information.
The intention behind the invention of cryptocurrency was to use it as an alternative for fiat currencies. Fiat currencies are those which are under the control of the Government of any state. Some of the widely used fiat currencies are the US dollar, Pound and Euro. On the contrary, Bitcoin is not under the jurisdiction of any central authority and transfers are controlled by individuals for a seamless flow of assets between the two parties. Bitcoin transfers are facilitated by the P2P technology to swipe the assets having some intrinsic worth.
Creation Of Bitcoin
People used to convert currencies into precious metals like gold a few decades ago, and that gold was used for trading purposes around the globe. Then suddenly, various countries stopped this exchange policy due to less gold production. Moreover, gold was used as a funding source in both world wars that forced governments to abandon the standards of gold. The protection of valuable things was another big issue because the transportation of gold and other precious metals was hard. People started buying currency notes in exchange for gold from banks to trade in comfort.
Banks became a dependent source for people to guard their assets, but in 2008 and 2009, these banks failed to keep up with the requirements and had a financial downfall. This incident helped Bitcoin gain popularity. After this financial failure, people realized how weak the existing financial system was, and they felt the need for trusted financial services for the welfare of clients. Since then, Bitcoin has earned quite a name in the financial market, and human reliance on banks has decreased exponentially.
Creator of Bitcoin Satoshi Nakamoto believed that a peer-to-peer financial system is best, and banks are unnecessary for transactions. According to his doctrine, a decentralized system would be better than banks. A plethora of cryptocurrencies develops a bond via Blockchain. Mining is a phenomenon used in cryptocurrency, and the mining of the first block occurred on January 3, 2009.
Initially, Bitcoin was only accessible by the miners, and it took one week for the first transaction after mining. You would be surprised to know that Bitcoin was worthless around 2009, and mining machines used to exchange the coins as a fun activity. However, today one Bitcoin is worth more than 50,000 USD. May 22, 2010, is regarded as Bitcoin Pizza Day every year because, on that day, an American bought two Papa John’s pizzas and paid 10,000 BTC.
How Does Bitcoin Work?
Bitcoin is a free-floating currency without any controlling authority. Any financial organization does not provide this cryptocurrency, and no ruling government supports it. It means BTC and other cryptocurrencies are not affected by the monetary rules, economic trends and inflation values.
Blockchain is the actual thing upon which Bitcoin relies. Smaller data bodies called blocks, when joined together, form a Blockchain. These component blocks contain every minor information about the ongoing and previous transaction. This data includes values, date and time, buying and selling parties, and a specific transaction code. The chronological order of entries makes a digital chain of blocks containing essential data.
One thing that makes crypto unique is the transparent system of transactions. Whenever a transaction happens, a new block is added to the existing Blockchain where anyone can watch it. This chain of blocks is open for everyone, just like a Google Doc where transaction records are maintained properly. The access link is mandatory for the contribution. Your copy will change too if someone amends the blocks.
Many people often wonder how Bitcoin is safe when anyone with a link can access and change the Blockchain? Let me tell you that this feature equips Bitcoin with trust and impenetrable security. A transaction block should be verified by most of the miners to be included in the Blockchain. Specific codes used to recognize users’ wallets and transactions should be compatible with the right encryption sequence.
Fraudulent transactions are impossible in the case of Bitcoin because statistical randomness of the verification sequences needed for a successful transaction reduces the chances of bogus BTC transactions.
As we all know, in Bitcoin, individuals are free to exchange digital currency through an autonomous public-key cryptosystem. For the success of digital exchange in this system, a sequence of signed transactions is required instead of messages. Public-key cryptography encrypts and decrypts data with the help of two keys to protect the information from unwanted outside attacks. The validity of a message is checked by the digital signature that uses an algorithm to verify it. It is the reason we call Bitcoin a series of digital signatures.
How does anyone send Bitcoin to another individual? A coin holder signs a hash of the last transaction and public key of the next owner to transfer Bitcoin and then attaches these credentials at the end of the coin. A payee can verify the chain of ownership by approving the signs. Public and private access to the keys is mandatory for the users to send the coins to anyone.
An address to which the coin was sent last time is known as a public key. However, a private key means a password attached with it to send Bitcoin to a new location. Let’s keep it simple, public and private keys are randomly generated letters and numbers, but a public key is more like an email address for the Bitcoin owner, and we can share it publicly. On the other hand, a private key is a code that needs to be protected at every cost to protect your assets. Bitcoin addresses allow everyone to see through a transparent glass, but only an owner with a private key can open it.
Is It Safe?
As discussed earlier, every transaction is transparent and maintained for public record, so no one can make bogus Bitcoin and use them without any ownership. Uniqueness is the best security Bitcoin can offer to clients. However, you can lose your wallet due to some error or delete the coins. In both ways, you won’t get your Bitcoin back ever again. In some cases, online thieves can make your coins to be stored remotely.
Moreover, the price of Bitcoin kept on fluctuating and has never plateaued since 2009. Optimistic minds see the crusts, while some think converting their money into BTC would be risky. Today Bitcoin is regarded as the most valuable cryptocurrency with tons of benefits for its owners. It is safe and allows you to handle your assets the way you want them to. No controlling power is involved in this electronic digital currency system, and users are autonomous entities to buy and sell Bitcoin as they please.
Keep in mind that no financial system is safer than Bitcoin due to its Blockchain system. Bitcoin is safe because it has a decentralized system, is public, and uses safe cryptography. Every cryptocurrency has its highs and lows, and only a user can decide where to invest his money.
How Does Bitcoin Mining Work?
Bitcoin is an active platform for investing money, and thousands of digital transactions happen every minute worldwide. Whenever a new transaction occurs, it is added to the Blockchain instantly. This induction of transactions into the existing blockchains is called Bitcoin mining. It may sound simple and easy from the definition; however, mining is a complex task. Crypto miners are specialists in mining, and they use PoW techniques. In this technique, miners rely on computers to solve mathematical problems for the validation of transactions. Computers are the mining machines that compete to solve those mathematical issues.
Mining is all about generating a hexadecimal number containing 64 digits. We call this number a hash, and it is almost similar or less than the miners’ aim for. Bitcoin hash rate is another common term used by clients. Miners try to deal with the Bitcoin and other blocks, and the Bitcoin hash rate shows the number of attempts made to fix those blocks. H/s denote units for the hash rates.
Bitcoin is an encouraging platform, and it motivates miners by providing them extra BTC for good work. Bitcoin encourages them to keep solving the complexities to provide a seamless digital P2P system. In this way, the transactions are included in the existing system of Blockchain.
Bitcoin mining was a profitable job initially, but now things have changed dramatically. Miners do not earn lucrative money because the costs involved in gaining computational power are tough these days. Furthermore, running these huge machines on electricity at current rates won’t suit the budget of a beginner. In 2009, miners used to get rich rewards on every block for mining, but then these benefits were halved every 4 years. Miners were getting 50 BTC for the mining of one block in 2009 and 25 BTC in 2012. By the end of 2020, miners ended up getting just 6.25 BTC to mine a complete block.
Transactions and stamps are directly proportional because miners will get more stamps if the transactions rise. It is estimated that all the coins will be released in the market in the future, and miners will profit simply from transaction fees.
Advantages And Disadvantages Of Bitcoin
Bitcoin is an open digital network, and no government controls it. Bitcoin users are autonomous bodies that take their decisions without any external pressure. Users of fiat currencies are unaware of the basic information and financial data about their currencies. However, BTC owners are familiar with every information regarding this currency. If you are a Bitcoin user, forget about identity theft, but this facility is not for fiat currency users and other payment methods like credit cards.
In the case of fiat currencies and other digital payment methods, you can lose your money in the hands of fraudsters if they steal your user ID, address, name, or date of birth. On the other hand, the account of a Bitcoin user is protected by the private and public keys that protect the basic information from falling into the wrong hands. Bitcoin hash rate is setting new records in the field of cryptocurrency.
Bitcoin has a top-notch security system supported by the blockchain system to thwart 51% of attacks. This type of attack is common in the cryptocurrency world and occurs when more than 50% of mining power, hash rate, and computational power is controlled by one or more than one miner. A 51% mining attack would permit miners to stop recording new transactions, prohibit validation of these transactions, shuffle the order of transactions. It won’t allow miners to mine coins inside the network. Large blockchains are safe; however, bad miners aim for small networks due to their vulnerability.
Governments can restrict the use of Bitcoin. Some countries have officially banned the use of cryptocurrency and declared its selling as an outlaw activity. In addition, the volatile nature of Bitcoin is no new thing for the traders, so most of them are not willing to accept any payment in Bitcoin because they fear losing thousands of dollars if the Bitcoin price drops shortly.
Cyber agencies around the globe are trying to curb illegal payments and money laundering activities done in Bitcoin. BTC transactions are irreversible; it means if a prowler gets his hands on your private keys and steals the BTC, there is no way to get the transferred coins back. However, the advantages of Bitcoin outweigh the disadvantages.
Various people have different plans when it comes to investment. Anyone with money can buy Bitcoin, but goals may vary. Some people buy it to hold for a long period, and some purchase Bitcoin to sell when the value goes up. Numerous crypto experts in the market have years of experience in this field, and they can guide novice traders to earn big.
How To Buy Bitcoin?
If you want to purchase Bitcoin, you can buy them from any cryptocurrency exchange. Some popular exchanges are Gemini, Kraken and Coinbase, and Robinhood is a premium online exchange facilitating crypto users for a long time. You can keep these coins in a hot wallet or a cold wallet. Cold wallets are offline type wallets considered as more secure than the hot wallets.
Furthermore, Bitcoin is very expensive, so instead of buying full coins, you can get fractional BTC, and each transaction will charge a small fee for the vendor you purchased the coin from. For any buying method, you need to provide an ID and source of income.
Should You Invest In Bitcoin?
Bitcoin are the most powerful and valuable currencies of this era. After buying these coins, you will surely feel a sense of accomplishment. However, the volatility of BTC is the main concern for investors, but earnings will be remarkable if the line graph keeps on surging. Investing in Bitcoin can help you to set up a new side business. You can invest 1% or even 10% of your total portfolio initially. This legit platform is all about smart playing.
Final Thoughts
Investors have a lot of money, but they do not know how to use it profitably. Bitcoin was invented in 2008 to provide people with a smooth online digital currency without any disturbance. Bitcoin has gained quite a name in cryptocurrency and is now regarded as the undisputed leader of currencies.
For a beginner, it is hard to pick a reliable investing platform, but after reading this article, you can buy these valuable coins to multiply your profits. If you want to test Bitcoin, put small investments in the beginning to avoid any crises. Do not put all your money in one place and take the risk of investing in other stocks. Investing in Bitcoin would be worth a while due to its valuable financial history and status in the cryptocurrency market.