Though the BitCoin technology was unleashed on the Internet in around 2008, it only gained importance five years later when developers, investors, and entrepreneurs sensed its potential.
As Forbes quotes, more than 76% people using the Internet have no clue what a BitCoin is and why and how it could succeed in dethroning the other cryptocurrency. So, through this article, we help you understand everything you need to know about BitCoins.
#1 What is a BitCoin?
Bitcoin is the new currency, or simply cryptocurrency – the currency of the future. It was invented by Satoshi Nakamoto way back in 2008 and was released on the world’s wide web in 2009.
The fact that makes BitCoins different from any other currency is that these transactions are made without any middlemen.
Meaning, there is whatsoever no involvement of the banks in these transactions and that means no transaction fee.
You no longer will have to verify your identity or even provide your real name, you can simply do buy and sell what you want to without any extravaganza.
With many technological companies and MNCs showing interest, more and more merchants have started accepting BitCoins.
#2 Why use Bitcoins?
Like mentioned Bitcoins lately, can be used to buy any merchandise anonymously over the internet. Plus, since these BitCoins are not tied to any country, international payments are easier and cheaper than ever,
Also since the value of BitCoin changes based on a multitude of factors like these listed by Investopedia, some people buy them as an investment and hope their value goes up someday.
#3 How can you get BitCoins?
Lately, it’s no longer difficult to get BitCoins. There are several means you can get BitCoins. These include:
Mining:
One feature that is so specific with BitCoins is that you can “mine” your own BitCoins using a computer. Simply all your computer has to do is solve highly complex math puzzles.
Well that being said, with each BitCoin mined, the difficulty level raises and very soon your computer works on these puzzles for days drawing in large amounts of current.
This is the only method in which BitCoins are created. And as of now, a winner wins up to 25 BitCoins every 10minutes. [FYI: There can only be a total of 21million BitCoins mined].
BitCoin Exchanges:
The main bottleneck with mining is it eats away a whole lot of your computational resources, and due to this reason rigs are especially available for mining purpose.
One alternative to mining is BitCoin Exchange. There are several marketplaces called “bitcoin exchanges”, which allow people to buy or sell bitcoins using different currencies. One such largest and trusted bitcoin exchange is the Mt. Gox.
BitCoin Transfers:
Just like the existing digital cash transfers, one can send BitCoins to anyone simply using a mobile app or a computer. With each day passing by, it could get easier than online cash transfers.
#4 How To Retain a BitCoin?
BitCoins are stored on the hard drive or the cloud in a Digital Wallet similar to the Apple Pay. This wallet is a virtual bank account that allows users to send or receive BitCoins.
Protected with software which provides security and encryption, these digital wallets hold the entire transaction data. One can pay for goods from BitCoin accepting merchants or save money in these digital wallets.
#5 What’s the future like for BitCoins?
Bitcoin (and cryptocurrency) is already changing the way people deal with payments on the Internet. Although BitCoins remain mysterious and confusing to many, there are signs of BitCoin gaining more legitimacy and acceptance than before.
And with entrepreneurs and investors joining the game, the future well and truly is the future of cryptocurrency giant – BitCoin.