Lição 3

What is Bitcoin ?

Bitcoin is the first and most known cryptocurrency in the world. Its creation led to the development of other cryptocurrencies and, actually, of the whole industry.

What is Bitcoin?

Bitcoin is a virtual currency – the first created in the world – and can be used to purchase services, products and any other items in establishments that accept payment with it. One of the big differences is that bitcoin does not have a physical coin or banknote. It is entirely digital, formed from a unique code.

Bitcoin is the world’s first decentralized currency. This means that, in addition to not being regulated by governments, banks or companies, it is possible to buy, send and receive bitcoins without any intermediary, such as banks or credit card issuers.

Also, it is a limited currency. Unlike the dollar and euro, currencies that can be issued as countries feel the need, bitcoin and its code were created in such a way that only 21 million coins can be issued.

What is the history of Bitcoin?

BTC came into being in October 2008, when its creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, sent an email to a list of people interested in cryptocurrencies, saying that he was working on a new peer-to-peer electronic cash system, without the need for third-party intervention in transactions.BTC was created in October 2008, when its creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, wrote an email to a list of cryptocurrency enthusiasts, stating that he was working on a new peer-to-peer electronic cash system that would not require third-party interference in transactions.

To this day, the identity of Satoshi Nakamoto remains a mystery in the world of cryptocurrency. Is he a single person? A group of people? There are various theories, but no evidence of his real identity.

Nakamoto’s email also contained a link to the BTC white paper in English. It defined the fundamentals of Bitcoin, which were based on four key points:

  • It is a peer-to-peer network that eliminates the possibility of double spending (the sending of coins more than once);

  • There is no need for intermediaries such as financial institutions or governments;

  • It allows network participants to remain anonymous;

  • It uses Proof of Work (or PoW) to generate Bitcoins (a process known as mining) and eliminates double spending.

Furthermore, Nakamoto stated in the white paper that the coin would have a limited quantity. Only 21 million BTC might be mined by 2140, resulting in scarcity.

How does Bitcoin work?

Bitcoin Mining

Cryptocurrency mining is the process of validating and recording transactions that take place within a Blockchain network, which is a massive database that serves as a public ledger for all cryptocurrency transactions.

This is also the process that is in charge of issuing new assets. That is, just as a central bank is responsible for “printing” money for circulation, mining is the method employed to increase the supply of cryptocurrencies on the market. The main distinction is that there is no authority supervising the process in the case of digital currencies such as Bitcoin.

Mining bitcoins was pretty simple in the beginning, when just Satoshi and a few enthusiasts were interested: they would simply download the program on their computer and would generate Bitcoins at ease. However, as more people began mining, the technique became more complicated. Today, there are machines and firms entirely dedicated to mining. If you desire, you may still get the program for free from the Bitcoin website. As in gold mining, in the past it was easy to find on the surface; today, the process is more complex and more expensive.

Proof-of-Work (PoW)

Bitcoin is a blockchain, which is a shared ledger that contains a history of all cryptocurrency transactions that have ever taken place. This blockchain, as the name suggests, is made up of blocks. The most recent transactions are stored in each of them.

Proof of work is a necessary part of adding new blocks to the Bitcoin blockchain. In practice, miners compete with each other to add them to the system. This “dispute” occurs through the resolution of complex calculations. A new block is accepted by the network each time a miner submits a new winning proof of work (resolution), which happens approximately every 10 minutes. As a reward, he receives cryptocurrency.

Being the winner, however, is so difficult that the only way to do it is to use expensive and specialized computers. Miners will only earn Bitcoin if they guess the correct combinations, and the more calculations they produce, the more Bitcoin they can earn.

Bitcoin Halving

A reward of new Bitcoins is given to the miner who finds the solution to interconnect the new block of information with the existing sequence of data, the blockchain. The halving is the 50% reduction in this award, scheduled to occur every 210,000 blocks. This is a built-in inflation handling mechanism as part of the source code and happens every four years or less. During each cycle, BTC price action generally goes through three phases: bullish, correction, and mean reversion (returning to the average price of the asset).

Highlights

  1. Bitcoin is the first cryptocurrency created and does not have a physical coin or banknote. It is entirely digital, formed from a unique code.

  2. Bitcoin is a limited currency. Unlike the dollar and euro, currencies that can be issued by countries, bitcoin was coded so that only 21 million coins could be issued.

  3. Bitcoin halving is the 50% reduction the block mining reward, scheduled to occur every 210,000 blocks. This is a built-in inflation handling mechanism as part of the source code and happens every four years or less.

Related Articles

Isenção de responsabilidade
* O investimento em criptomoedas envolve grandes riscos. Prossiga com cautela. O curso não se destina a servir de orientação para investimentos.
* O curso foi criado pelo autor que entrou para o Gate Learn. As opiniões compartilhadas pelo autor não representam o Gate Learn.
Catálogo
Lição 3

What is Bitcoin ?

Bitcoin is the first and most known cryptocurrency in the world. Its creation led to the development of other cryptocurrencies and, actually, of the whole industry.

What is Bitcoin?

Bitcoin is a virtual currency – the first created in the world – and can be used to purchase services, products and any other items in establishments that accept payment with it. One of the big differences is that bitcoin does not have a physical coin or banknote. It is entirely digital, formed from a unique code.

Bitcoin is the world’s first decentralized currency. This means that, in addition to not being regulated by governments, banks or companies, it is possible to buy, send and receive bitcoins without any intermediary, such as banks or credit card issuers.

Also, it is a limited currency. Unlike the dollar and euro, currencies that can be issued as countries feel the need, bitcoin and its code were created in such a way that only 21 million coins can be issued.

What is the history of Bitcoin?

BTC came into being in October 2008, when its creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, sent an email to a list of people interested in cryptocurrencies, saying that he was working on a new peer-to-peer electronic cash system, without the need for third-party intervention in transactions.BTC was created in October 2008, when its creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, wrote an email to a list of cryptocurrency enthusiasts, stating that he was working on a new peer-to-peer electronic cash system that would not require third-party interference in transactions.

To this day, the identity of Satoshi Nakamoto remains a mystery in the world of cryptocurrency. Is he a single person? A group of people? There are various theories, but no evidence of his real identity.

Nakamoto’s email also contained a link to the BTC white paper in English. It defined the fundamentals of Bitcoin, which were based on four key points:

  • It is a peer-to-peer network that eliminates the possibility of double spending (the sending of coins more than once);

  • There is no need for intermediaries such as financial institutions or governments;

  • It allows network participants to remain anonymous;

  • It uses Proof of Work (or PoW) to generate Bitcoins (a process known as mining) and eliminates double spending.

Furthermore, Nakamoto stated in the white paper that the coin would have a limited quantity. Only 21 million BTC might be mined by 2140, resulting in scarcity.

How does Bitcoin work?

Bitcoin Mining

Cryptocurrency mining is the process of validating and recording transactions that take place within a Blockchain network, which is a massive database that serves as a public ledger for all cryptocurrency transactions.

This is also the process that is in charge of issuing new assets. That is, just as a central bank is responsible for “printing” money for circulation, mining is the method employed to increase the supply of cryptocurrencies on the market. The main distinction is that there is no authority supervising the process in the case of digital currencies such as Bitcoin.

Mining bitcoins was pretty simple in the beginning, when just Satoshi and a few enthusiasts were interested: they would simply download the program on their computer and would generate Bitcoins at ease. However, as more people began mining, the technique became more complicated. Today, there are machines and firms entirely dedicated to mining. If you desire, you may still get the program for free from the Bitcoin website. As in gold mining, in the past it was easy to find on the surface; today, the process is more complex and more expensive.

Proof-of-Work (PoW)

Bitcoin is a blockchain, which is a shared ledger that contains a history of all cryptocurrency transactions that have ever taken place. This blockchain, as the name suggests, is made up of blocks. The most recent transactions are stored in each of them.

Proof of work is a necessary part of adding new blocks to the Bitcoin blockchain. In practice, miners compete with each other to add them to the system. This “dispute” occurs through the resolution of complex calculations. A new block is accepted by the network each time a miner submits a new winning proof of work (resolution), which happens approximately every 10 minutes. As a reward, he receives cryptocurrency.

Being the winner, however, is so difficult that the only way to do it is to use expensive and specialized computers. Miners will only earn Bitcoin if they guess the correct combinations, and the more calculations they produce, the more Bitcoin they can earn.

Bitcoin Halving

A reward of new Bitcoins is given to the miner who finds the solution to interconnect the new block of information with the existing sequence of data, the blockchain. The halving is the 50% reduction in this award, scheduled to occur every 210,000 blocks. This is a built-in inflation handling mechanism as part of the source code and happens every four years or less. During each cycle, BTC price action generally goes through three phases: bullish, correction, and mean reversion (returning to the average price of the asset).

Highlights

  1. Bitcoin is the first cryptocurrency created and does not have a physical coin or banknote. It is entirely digital, formed from a unique code.

  2. Bitcoin is a limited currency. Unlike the dollar and euro, currencies that can be issued by countries, bitcoin was coded so that only 21 million coins could be issued.

  3. Bitcoin halving is the 50% reduction the block mining reward, scheduled to occur every 210,000 blocks. This is a built-in inflation handling mechanism as part of the source code and happens every four years or less.

Related Articles

Isenção de responsabilidade
* O investimento em criptomoedas envolve grandes riscos. Prossiga com cautela. O curso não se destina a servir de orientação para investimentos.
* O curso foi criado pelo autor que entrou para o Gate Learn. As opiniões compartilhadas pelo autor não representam o Gate Learn.