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To cut through some of the confusion surrounding bitcoin, we need to divide it into two components. On the one hand, you have bitcoin-the-token, a snippet of code which represents ownership of an electronic concept type of like a virtual IOU. On the other hand, you've got bitcoin-the-protocol, a dispersed network which maintains a ledger of balances of bitcoin-the-token.
The system enables payments to be sent between users without passing via a central authority, such as a bank or payment gateway. It's created and kept electronically. Bitcoins arent printed, like dollars or euros theyre produced by computers all around the planet, using free software.
It was the first example of what we call cryptocurrencies, a growing asset category that shares some features of traditional currencies, with verification based on cryptography.
A pseudonymous software programmer going by the name of Satoshi Nakamoto proposed bitcoin in 2008, as an electronic payment method based on mathematical proof. The idea was to produce a means of exchange, independent of any central power, that could be transferred electronically in a secure, verifiable and immutable manner.
Bitcoins most important characteristic is that it is decentralized. No single institution controls the bitcoin network. It is maintained by a group of volunteer coders, and run through an open network of dedicated servers spread around the world. This brings individuals and groups who are uncomfortable with the control that banks or government institutions have over their money. .
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Bitcoin simplifies the double spending issue of electronic currencies (in which electronic assets can readily be replicated and re-used) via an ingenious combination of cryptography and economic incentives. In electronic fiat currencies, this function is fulfilled by banks, which gives them control over the traditional system. Together with bitcoin, the integrity of these transactions is maintained by a distributed and open network, owned by no-one. .
Fiat currencies (dollars, euros, yen, etc.) have an unlimited supply central banks can issue as many as they want, and can try to manipulate a currencys value relative to other people. Holders of the currency (and notably citizens with very little alternative) keep the price.
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With bitcoin, on the other hand, the distribution is closely controlled by the underlying algorithm. A small number of new bitcoins trickle every hour, and will continue to do so at a diminishing rate until a max of 21 million has been attained. This creates bitcoin more attractive as an advantage in theory, if demand grows and the why not try these out distribution remains the same, the value will increase. .
Even though senders of traditional electronic payments are often identified (for verification purposes, and to comply with anti-money laundering and other legislation), users of bitcoin in concept operate in semi-anonymity. Since there's absolutely no central validator, users do not need to identify themselves when sending bitcoin to another user. When a transaction request is filed, the protocol checks all prior transactions to confirm that the sender has the necessary bitcoin as well as the ability to send them.
In practice, every user is identified with the address of their pocket. Transactions can, with some effort, be monitored this way. Also, law enforcement has developed methods index to identify consumers if necessary.
Additionally, most exchanges are required by legislation to perform identity checks on their clients before they're allowed to buy or sell bitcoin, facilitating another manner that bitcoin usage can be tracked. Since the network is transparent, the progress of a particular transaction is observable to all.
This is because there's absolutely no central adjudicator that can say okay, return the money. If a transaction is additional info recorded on the network, and when greater than an hour has passed, then it's not possible to change.
Even though this might disquiet a few, it will mean that any transaction on the bitcoin network cannot be tampered with.
The smallest unit of a bitcoin is called a satoshi. It is one hundred millionth of a bitcoin (0.00000001) at todays prices, roughly one hundredth of a cent. This could conceivably enable microtransactions that traditional electronic money cannot.
Bitcoin is an electronic currency, also known as a cryptocurrency. It was invented in 2008 with an anonymous person or group named Satoshi Nakamoto.