What exactly is Bitcoin?
Bitcoin is similar to a country’s physical cash used for transactions (buying and selling), how it differs is that rather than being physical it is digital, used on the internet. It’s a decentralized virtual currency in the sense that it is not issued by a central authority like a government or bank, the way the dollar, euro, naira, and other fiat currencies are. Instead, bitcoin is created, exchanged, and overseen by networks of computers at different locations in the world (distributed peer-to-peer network).
Why use Bitcoin?
Anyone with an internet connection can send bitcoins to anybody over a secure and distributed network directly, without any need for traditional financial authorities or intermediaries. Also, the history of the transaction will be available to view by anyone at any time. Bitcoin transactions are irreversible and immutable once committed on the blockchain. Think of blockchain as a book in which account transactions are recorded and maintained across several computers that are linked in a peer-to-peer network.
How to own Bitcoin
For anyone to start using bitcoin you need to have a bitcoin wallet, a digital wallet used for storing bitcoins. Some of the ways you can own bitcoin are outlined below:
- Buying from a Bitcoin exchange: To buy bitcoin, you need an exchange where buyers and sellers of bitcoin meet to exchange dollars and other currencies for bitcoin. Some well-known exchanges include Gemini, Binance, and Coinbase among others.
- Peer-to-Peer exchange: It is possible to buy directly from a friend that owns bitcoin already. You pay the friend a physical currency while he sends some bitcoin to your wallet. Bitcoin wallets are capable of sending and receiving bitcoin.
- Bitcoin ATMs: If you’re able to locate any Bitcoin ATM, you can insert cash into the machine and use it to purchase bitcoin that is then transferred to your digital wallets.
Conclusion
Bitcoin is the most widely used digital currency, driven by the ease of transaction. Owning some might be some sort of asset.
I hope this will provide basic knowledge about bitcoin. If you find this post useful, do share it with your friends on Facebook & Twitter!
