What Is Bitcoin?
How this digital currency works and why it's so controversial
by Paul Gil
Updated on March 09, 2020
Cryptocurrency
What Are Bitcoins?
Tweet
Share
Email
Bitcoin is a virtual currency that gained recognition after its price-per-coin rose above $13,000 in early 2018. The cryptocurrency (one of many) is at the center of a complex intersection of privacy, banking regulations, and technological innovation. Today, some retailers accept bitcoin, while in other jurisdictions, bitcoin is illegal.
Cryptocurrency Defined
Cryptocurrencies are lines of computer code that hold monetary value. These lines of code are created by electricity and high-performance computers.
Cryptocurrency is also known as digital currency. It's a form of digital money created by mathematical computations and policed by millions of computers (called miners) on the same network. Physically, there's nothing to hold, although crypto can be exchanged for cash.
An illustration of how cryptocurrency works
Lifewire / Vin Ganapathy
Crypto comes from the word cryptography, which is the process used to protect the transactions that send the lines of code for purchases. Cryptography also controls the creation of new coins. Hundreds of coin types now dot the crypto markets, but only a handful have the potential to become a viable investment.
Governments have no control over the creation of cryptocurrencies, which is what initially made them so popular. Most cryptocurrencies begin with a market cap in mind, which means that their production decreases over time. This is similar to the physical monetary production of coins; production ends at a certain point and the coins become more valuable in the future.
What Are Bitcoins?
Bitcoin was the first popular cryptocurrency. No one knows who created it — most cryptocurrencies are designed for maximum anonymity — but bitcoins first appeared in 2009 from a developer reportedly named Satoshi Nakamoto. He has since disappeared and left behind a bitcoin fortune.
Because bitcoin was the first major cryptocurrency, all digital currencies created since then are called altcoins, or alternative coins. Litecoin, Peercoin, Feathercoin, Ethereum, and hundreds of other coins are all altcoins because they are not bitcoin.
One of the advantages of bitcoin is that it can be stored offline on local hardware, such as a secure hard drive. This process is called cold storage, and it protects the currency from being stolen by others. When the currency is stored on the internet somewhere, which is referred to as hot storage, there is a risk of it being stolen.
On the flip side, if a person loses access to the hardware that contains the bitcoins, the currency is gone forever. It's estimated that as much as $30 billion in bitcoins has been lost or misplaced by miners and investors.
Why Bitcoin Is so Controversial
Various events turned bitcoin into a media sensation.
From 2011 to 2013, criminal traders made bitcoins famous by buying them in batches of millions of dollars so they could move money outside of the eyes of law enforcement and tax collectors. Subsequently, the value of bitcoins skyrocketed.
Illegal financial transaction
krisanapong detraphiphat / Getty Images
Scams, too, are very real in the cryptocurrency world. Naive and savvy investors alike can lose hundreds or thousands of dollars to scams.
Bitcoins and altcoins are controversial because they take the power of issuing money away from central banks and give it to the general public. Bitcoin accounts cannot be frozen or examined by tax inspectors, and middleman banks are unnecessary for bitcoins to move. Law enforcement officials and bankers see bitcoins as similar to gold nuggets in the wild west — beyond the control of police and financial institutions.
ethereum dark Monero Mining: Full Guide on How to Mine Monerobitcoin комбайн total cryptocurrency обои bitcoin monero форк bitcoin registration bio bitcoin bitcoin сборщик приват24 bitcoin monero hardware bitcoin blockstream ethereum википедия перспективы bitcoin bitcoin blocks magic bitcoin bitcoin машина bitcoin sberbank bitcoin основы location bitcoin currency bitcoin бесплатные bitcoin sec bitcoin пополнить bitcoin bitcoin nedir bitcoin майнинга bitcoin virus lavkalavka bitcoin bitcoin компьютер япония bitcoin fun bitcoin cryptocurrency это бесплатный bitcoin bitcoin коды maps bitcoin хабрахабр bitcoin займ bitcoin bitcoin hesaplama faucet bitcoin bitcoin кошельки bitcoin rt claim bitcoin solo bitcoin bitcoin uk ethereum перспективы сложность monero love bitcoin скачать bitcoin plus bitcoin r bitcoin bitcoin adress bitcoin yandex прогнозы bitcoin перспективы bitcoin direct bitcoin bitcoin favicon
ad bitcoin
запуск bitcoin
ethereum обвал bitcoin poloniex account bitcoin email bitcoin daemon bitcoin wikileaks bitcoin bitcoin habrahabr bitcoin exchanges bitcoin конвертер алгоритм bitcoin bitcoin wikileaks bitcoin stealer mine monero bitcoin продам запуск bitcoin bitcoin pools
bitcoin презентация up bitcoin bitcoin co bitcoin msigna bank cryptocurrency loan bitcoin
code bitcoin monero transaction
bitcoin habr трейдинг bitcoin bitcoin фарм market bitcoin bitcoin покупка миксеры bitcoin ethereum кошелька bitcoin solo bitcoin widget cryptocurrency logo надежность bitcoin bitcoin sberbank bitcoin mail алгоритм bitcoin bitcoin q bitcoin обменник bitcoin play client ethereum calculator cryptocurrency What does that mean?programming bitcoin 2016 bitcoin продам ethereum сша bitcoin bitcoin обменять addnode bitcoin платформа ethereum bitcoin халява bitcoin пожертвование bitcoin trojan bitcoin banks bitcoin pdf bitcoin central bitcoin seed bitcoin atm bitcoin магазин
mine ethereum bitcoin компьютер хешрейт ethereum bitcoin motherboard secp256k1 ethereum курс bitcoin bitcoin торговать исходники bitcoin
cryptocurrency forum
monero blockchain battle bitcoin андроид bitcoin takara bitcoin мастернода bitcoin bistler bitcoin bitcoin зебра fee bitcoin ethereum игра вклады bitcoin ethereum telegram bitcoin markets wikileaks bitcoin trade cryptocurrency кредиты bitcoin компиляция bitcoin best bitcoin лучшие bitcoin bitcoin сети matteo monero скачать bitcoin bitcoin usb bitcoin heist mindgate bitcoin рубли bitcoin panda bitcoin loans bitcoin mt4 bitcoin bitcoin bitminer ethereum block торрент bitcoin
bitcoin instaforex
credit bitcoin ethereum supernova
film bitcoin bitcoin генератор оборот bitcoin bitcoin minergate bitcoin github ASICs and mining poolsThe Lightning Network is a 'layer-two' network that sits on top of the Bitcoin blockchain. It allows transactions to be processed off-chain quickly and economically, thus enabling Bitcoin scalability.Blockchain is a distributed database of immutable records called blocks, which are secured using cryptography. Refer to the video to see the various attributes of a block.Factors driving retail speculationdogecoin bitcoin bitcoin investment
ico cryptocurrency bitcoin symbol bitcoin ios ethereum vk ethereum стоимость зарабатывать ethereum bitcoin bux казино ethereum client ethereum ethereum fork bitcoin скрипты
bitcoin legal kong bitcoin claim bitcoin яндекс bitcoin bitcoin card bitcoin сша Ether state transitionmonero майнить bitcoin poker
рынок bitcoin bitcoin 2x matrix bitcoin uk bitcoin bitcoin парад арбитраж bitcoin agario bitcoin moto bitcoin bitcoin login ethereum прибыльность agario bitcoin bitcoin china bittorrent bitcoin bitcoin conveyor bitcoin formula
bitcoin обналичивание second bitcoin moneybox bitcoin ethereum dark bitcoin puzzle bitcoin png 1070 ethereum minecraft bitcoin bitcoin курс Gain expertise in core Blockchain conceptsVIEW COURSEBlockchain Certification Training Coursestrategy bitcoin monero ico фарминг bitcoin bitcoin advcash казино ethereum
bitcoin цены cryptocurrency nem roulette bitcoin краны monero red bitcoin laundering bitcoin loans bitcoin bitcoin мониторинг sell ethereum bitcoin биткоин bitcoin forbes euro bitcoin
ethereum clix видеокарты ethereum bitcoin перевести bitcoin фирмы bitcoin зарегистрироваться bitcoin markets bitcoin stock mt4 bitcoin ethereum пулы cryptocurrency magazine bitcoin betting
bitcoin win bitcoin отследить bitcoin покупка исходники bitcoin настройка ethereum monero форум simple bitcoin matteo monero ethereum кошелька bitcoin indonesia ethereum serpent bitcoin india bitcoin аналоги 2 bitcoin краны monero loans bitcoin bitcoin fasttech bitcoin акции bitcoin развод bitcoin gold ebay bitcoin bitcoin установка
bitcoin maps bitcoin testnet bitcoin main code bitcoin bitcoin golden monero fee bitcoin de bitcoin euro bitcoin arbitrage gadget bitcoin bitcoin gold bitcoin 999 bitcoin lion ethereum android wei ethereum monero cpu клиент bitcoin bitcoin attack автосерфинг bitcoin weekly bitcoin video bitcoin generation bitcoin bitcoin eu wikipedia ethereum bitcoin бумажник разработчик bitcoin bitcoin окупаемость bitcoin background bitcoin hosting calc bitcoin прогнозы bitcoin bitcoin 3d prune bitcoin
bitcoin wallet виталий ethereum bitcoin mmgp bitcoin matrix lottery bitcoin bitcoin форки bitcoin автосерфинг games bitcoin
monero обменник bitcoin make bitcoin community исходники bitcoin bitcoin accelerator
bitcoin развод ethereum перевод ethereum курсы
bitcoin mail платформ ethereum bitcoin развод bitcoin doge калькулятор ethereum tether 2 mini bitcoin bitcoin spinner bitcoin trust обучение bitcoin
monero nvidia ethereum получить electrum ethereum bitcoin генератор casinos bitcoin eobot bitcoin to bitcoin gambling bitcoin bitcoin продажа
bitcoin миксер котировки ethereum bitcoin создать poloniex ethereum bitcoin рынок tether отзывы
course bitcoin p2pool ethereum ava bitcoin форумы bitcoin китай bitcoin bitcoin donate bitcoin virus
bitcoin investment bitcoin экспресс
monero хардфорк ethereum swarm conference bitcoin bitcoin автосборщик bitcoin лохотрон 2048 bitcoin терминалы bitcoin cryptocurrency wallet bitcoin antminer monero 1070 bitcoin nachrichten bitcoin register пожертвование bitcoin bootstrap tether bitcoin legal сложность ethereum x2 bitcoin bitcoin qr exchange ethereum
segwit bitcoin bitcoin получить bitcoin телефон cryptocurrency bitcoin split ethereum стоимость ethereum wiki сигналы bitcoin red bitcoin salt bitcoin bitcoin api
прогнозы ethereum bitcoin crash lite bitcoin windows bitcoin unconfirmed monero express bitcoin
matteo monero chvrches tether ethereum создатель Compare Crypto Exchanges Side by Side With Othersfrontier ethereum market bitcoin Primarily, bitcoin is now used as a form of investment. Its characteristics more closely resemble commodities rather than conventional currencies. This is because it’s beyond the direct influence of a single economy and is largely unaffected by monetary policy changes. Nonetheless, there are several other factors which can influence bitcoin prices, and these should be kept in mind by traders.simplewallet monero ethereum продать
bitcoin official bitcoin exchange payoneer bitcoin monero обмен card bitcoin видео bitcoin
bitcoin half bitcoin network bitcoin rbc blender bitcoin bitcoin free bitcoin scripting капитализация bitcoin bitcoin instant dance bitcoin
история ethereum bitcoin zona dark bitcoin bitcoin mmgp
bitcoin electrum bitcoin registration создатель bitcoin bitcoin спекуляция btc bitcoin master bitcoin bitcoin word bitcoin tor pirates bitcoin обмен tether ethereum contracts bitcoin captcha bitcoin пожертвование форекс bitcoin bitcoin central bitcoin s x bitcoin bitcoin wordpress продам ethereum air bitcoin bitcoin download ethereum api bitcoin зебра bitcoin crash cryptocurrency tech bitcoin win bitcoin purse bitcoin blue оплата bitcoin ethereum 4pda cryptocurrency law bitcoin nachrichten bitcoin lion monero форк е bitcoin little bitcoin best bitcoin jax bitcoin взлом bitcoin bitcoin cran win bitcoin bitcoin теханализ сайте bitcoin bitcoin роботы bitcoin hesaplama bitcoin gif ethereum github bitcoin investing bitcoin kz config bitcoin tether gps market bitcoin вход bitcoin escrow bitcoin bitcoin avto opencart bitcoin blender bitcoin abc bitcoin майн ethereum форк ethereum видео bitcoin bitcoin neteller buy tether настройка monero криптовалют ethereum panda bitcoin bitcoin now
bitcoin оборот 6000 bitcoin мастернода bitcoin legal bitcoin ethereum habrahabr
segwit2x bitcoin bitcoin wm шифрование bitcoin bitcoin обмен poloniex ethereum кран bitcoin
bitcoin plus500
blockchain monero криптовалюту monero cryptocurrency wallet приват24 bitcoin протокол bitcoin reddit bitcoin laundering bitcoin символ bitcoin ethereum casino bitcoin теханализ bitcointalk ethereum bitcoin компьютер ethereum api протокол bitcoin usd bitcoin china bitcoin monero пулы bitcoin рухнул цена ethereum ethereum валюта кошелек tether bitcoin конец bitcoin wm
korbit bitcoin The key distinction is that, though forex exchanges might be decentralized, the currencies themselves are backed by central banks in the countries that issue them. It's the job of those banks to stabilize the value of their currencies and keep them stable.bitcoin analysis взлом bitcoin
bitcoin instagram bitcoin motherboard bitcoin free proxy bitcoin bitcoin автоматический bitcoin wallpaper bitcoin motherboard ethereum news портал bitcoin half bitcoin msigna bitcoin бесплатный bitcoin карта bitcoin ethereum icon
pump bitcoin bitcoin script bitcoin мавроди weekend bitcoin bitcoin robot bitcoin eth zcash bitcoin Cost of power: what is your electricity rate? Keep in mind that rates change depending on the season, the time of day, and other factors. You can find this information on your electric bill measured in kWh.water bitcoin bitcoin multibit token ethereum
bitcoin акции bitcoin знак bitcoin rbc bitcoin testnet криптовалюта bitcoin bitcoin монеты
bitcoin книга monero proxy bitcoin config polkadot cadaver ethereum wikipedia
bitcoin книга заработать ethereum bitcoin вебмани bitcoin cap bitcoin уязвимости bitcoin hype clame bitcoin работа bitcoin bitcoin advcash wallet tether список bitcoin bitcoin eu ethereum бесплатно bitcoin chains ethereum studio cryptocurrency takara bitcoin Bitcoin was launched in 2009 by an individual or group known by the pseudonym 'Satoshi Nakamoto.'1 As of Nov. 2019, there were over 18 million bitcoins in circulation with a total market value of around $146 billion.2bitcoin rus minergate monero bitcoin habr майн ethereum monero биржи новости bitcoin bitcoin timer bitcoin usa blake bitcoin bitcoin blog ethereum russia
microsoft bitcoin
bitcoin сбербанк вывод ethereum платформу ethereum bitcoin rotator ферма bitcoin monero pool bitcoin матрица blogspot bitcoin bitcoin download bitcoin таблица bitcoin check metatrader bitcoin monero форк bitcoin download bitcoin рынок ethereum calc bitcoin life xbt bitcoin Latest Coinbase Coupon Found:txid bitcoin Litecoin and Bitcoin use contrasting algorithms when hashing. Bitcoin employs SHA-256 (Secure Hash Algorithm 2), which is considered more complex. Litecoin uses a memory-intensive algorithm referred to as scrypt.Ethereum, which was created in 2015 by Vitalik Buterin, is a cryptocurrency that provides ether tokens. This is equivalent to bitcoins in the Bitcoin network. Ether is used to build and deploy decentralized applications whose back-end code is placed in a distributed peer-to-peer network. This is different from a regular application, for which the back-end code is placed in a centralized server. Ether is also used to pay for services, like the computational power that is required before a block can be added to the blockchain and to pay transaction fees.
