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Key pointsBitcoin is an electronic currency known as a cryptocurrencyThe peer-to-peer technology underpinning it's known as the blockchain a public ledger of transactionsBitcoins can be stored in a virtual wallet and used to buy other currencies or actual world goods

Where once a single bitcoin has been worth a few cents it's now worth about $9,200 per coin (November 2017), creating millionaires in the process.There have been many reported cases where individuals mined thousands of relatively useless bitcoins as a hobby years back, only to now realise they are rich.One IT worker even threw out a hard disk containing 7,500 bitcoins.

This is done without a central authority or bank.Who generated itBitcoin and also the blockchain technology was made by someone under the pseudonym of Satoshi Nakamoto and released as a working beta in 2009. Satoshi's true identity remains a mystery as he disappeared from the scene in 2010 after seemingly handing over the reins into Gavin Andresen, the chief scientist in the Bitcoin Foundation.Over the years numerous individuals have claimed to become Satoshi, including Australian computer scientist Craig Wright.

Once the limit is reached, no longer bitcoins can be made.However, a single bitcoin can be subdivided as far down as the decimal place (0.00000001BTC) to buy smaller goods using only a fraction of the coin.How would you shop or send bitcoinYou can store and send bitcoins via an encrypted digital wallet, which is run as an app on your computer.The wallet functions with two keys a private key and a public key which look to be a seemingly random string of numbers and letters.The private key is kept confidential by you and acts as a password that unlocks the wallet and allows you to send any bitcoins connected with it.

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In case the website gets hacked or someone gets your login details that they can access and drain your funds from the exchange.There is no way to get a transaction to be reversed or recovered if a burglar sends your bitcoins for their wallet.After buying your coins you should transfer them into a secure digital pocket made by you and not hosted online.You can even write address down the wallet's private key on a piece of paper (that is known as a paper wallet) and stick it in a safe.If you don't save the private key on your pc or online then recipients can never break in and access your funds.

Bitcoin means different things to different individuals. For many, it's a future of freely moving currency untied to any central bank. To others, it's a purely electronic entity of questionable value and doubtful origin. However, what is Bitcoin, in the most basic senseIn most casual conversations, you can get away with knowing that bitcoin is, essentially, an electronic currency.

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In reality, it is two considerably more complicated things.Bitcoin has been with us since 2009, when a person (or pop over to this site group) under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto introduced a platform (Bitcoin, uppercase) that hosts an electronic currency (bitcoin, lowercase). Bitcoin the platform is built on the concept of proof of work data that is expensive and time-intensive to create but can be easily verified.

To mine a bitcoin, a computer must complete a complicated algorithm, essentially going through the work of an extensive calculation in exchange for some newly minted currency. That bit more of digital currency is worth whatever the market decides through supply and demand.Transactions are connected to a users Bitcoin speech, which is saved on its general ledger, called the blockchain.

This relative anonymity makes the platform appealing for things like incognito purchases over the internet.A key component of Bitcoins blockchain is the fact that it is an open, distributed ledger. Throughout the dispersed nature of the ledger, the transactions on the blockchain are confirmed from the consensus of every member, offering security and trust with no third-party overseer.One of the most important things to bear in mind when thinking about exactly what Bitcoin (or bitcoin) is: there is no single answer.