Are you Bitcoin-oriented?

Bitcoin, the first cryptocurrency, is a decentralized form of digital cash that eliminates the need for traditional intermediaries like banks and governments to make financial transactions.

The value of Bitcoin broke all records in December, 2020.

The spot price to buy a bitcoin — the world’s first and most popular digital currency — eclipsed $23,000 after trading as low as $3,237 in December 2018. As prices rise, so does public interest in buying Bitcoin. The first thing to know: All investments carry risk, but experimental cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are among the riskiest. Never invest more than you can afford to lose.

Definition: What is Bitcoin?

Bitcoin, launched in 2009, was the first of a new kind of asset called cryptocurrency, a decentralized form of digital cash that eliminates the need for traditional intermediaries like banks and governments to make financial transactions.

Instead, Bitcoin is powered through a combination of peer-to-peer technology — a network of individuals, much like the volunteer editors who create Wikipedia — and software-driven cryptography, the science of passing secret information that can only be read by the sender and receiver. This creates a currency backed by code rather than items of physical value, like gold or silver, or by trust in central authorities like the U.S. dollar or Japanese yen.

To exchange Ethereum, visit: bitcoin to euro

“What is needed is an electronic payment system based on cryptographic proof instead of trust, allowing any two willing parties to transact directly with each other without the need for a trusted third party,” wrote Satoshi Nakamoto — the pseudonym of the mysterious Bitcoin creator, who remains unknown — in a white paper introducing the open-source technology.

How does Bitcoin work?

Each bitcoin (trading symbol “BTC,” though “XBT” is also used) is a computer file stored in a digital wallet on a computer or smartphone. To understand how the cryptocurrency works, it helps to understand these terms and a little context:

• Blockchain: Bitcoin is powered by open-source code known as blockchain, which creates a shared public ledger. Each transaction is a “block” that is “chained” to the code, creating a permanent record of each transaction. Blockchain technology is at the heart of more than 6,000 cryptocurrencies that have followed in Bitcoin’s wake.
• Private and public keys: A bitcoin wallet contains a public key and a private key, which work together to allow the owner to initiate and digitally sign transactions, providing proof of authorization.
• Bitcoin miners: Miners — or members of the peer-to-peer platform — then independently confirm the transaction using high-speed computers, typically within 10 to 20 minutes. Miners are paid in bitcoin for their efforts.