What is BITCOIN?

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Bitcoin is a peer-to-peer currency. Peer-to-peer means that no central authority issues new money or tracks transactions. These tasks are managed collectively by the network.

A Bitcoin is the base currency of the Bitcoin market. It is like how we reference a Dollar or a Euro, and like the different currencies in the world, the Bitcoin trades at different values based primarily on speculation, supply and demand. One of the most attractive features of Bitcoins is that they are not controlled by any government. They cannot be artificially inflated or deflated. A monetary authority cannot pump more of them into the market to boost the economy. Basically, there is a set amount going out over time and as time goes on the amount entering the market decreases.

It is a digital currency that has made countless headlines in recent days. Its protocol is highly secure, it is anonymous and its value has soared sky high since it initially started. If you want in on the whole thing, here’s how to get you started.

Right now, the value of a single Bitcoin is fluctuating between $600 and $700. It started from virtually nothing but a few dollars per Bitcoin and soared to some $1300 before coming down and stabilizing in the current slot. This should give you an idea that Bitcoin is still a wildly fluctuating digital currency, although many herald it as the future of digital payments.

Bitcoin account and wallet:

To start in the Bitcoin business, the first thing you need is a wallet. A wallet is like your digital account where you  can receive Bitcoin, send Bitcoin from and keep your Bitcoin wealth safe. The second thing you need is link to a Bitcoin exchange so that you can directly buy Bitcoin against your dollar payments.

Coinbase is an excellent place to start because it is a fine combination of the two aforementioned features. It is a wallet plus an exchange and is fairly reliable and reputed. To create a Coinbase account, you will need to furnish your bank account and verify the phone number you provide. There’s also the option of adding a credit card which can speed up your online transactions but that’s your call.

Once you provide all this information, Coinbase will take a few days to verify these details. At times, the company may take many days to verify your details, being wary of Bitcoin-related frauds that have been perpetuated by hackers in the past. As soon as your account is verified, you can start Bitcoin-related transactions right away.

Bitcoin Address:

You will be provided a BTC address, a key which is the digital equivalent of your bank account number. Whenever you want to receive Bitcoin from someone, you will be asked to provide the BTC address. Similarly, if you want to send Bitcoin to another user, you will need that user’s BTC address.

These basics will get you started on the basics of Bitcoin. Given the digital nature of the currency, you must take every measure to keep your Bitcoin-related account information safe from possible hackers.

Bitcoin uses public-key cryptography, peer-to-peer networking, and proof-of-work to process and verify payments. Bitcoins are sent (or signed over) from one address to another with each user potentially having many, many addresses. Each payment transaction is broadcast to the network and included in the blockchain so that the included bitcoins cannot be spent twice. After an hour or two, each transaction is locked in time by the massive amount of processing power that continues to extend the blockchain. Using these techniques, Bitcoin provides a fast and extremely reliable payment network that anyone can use.

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