What is Bitcoin?
Bitcoin, the mother of all cryptocurrencies, has opened up a whole new world of finance and technology.
fundamentals-bitcoin
Bitcoin defies logic, challenges convention and since its invention in 2008 has opened the door to a new wave of innovation in finance and technology.
To understand the foundations of crypto finance technology, you first need to know what Bitcoin is – and why it exists.
The Birth of Bitcoin
In the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, a new and soon-to-be revolutionary technology was brought into the world. Satoshi Nakomoto (a name which remains but a pseudonym to this day) published the Bitcoin Whitepaper, proposing a Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System which would allow online payments to be sent over the internet without using a bank or institution as an intermediary. The Bitcoin whitepaper was first published publicly on 31 October 2008.
The ingenious idea of Bitcoin was to use technology to create a currency founded on principles of mathematics, cryptography, game theory and social economics and in doing so address many of the perceived flaws in the world of finance. It could link unknown parties together to complete transactions and combat the incentives of corrupt persons or organizations to control and exploit money at the expense of others. For the first time, it was possible to explicitly depict and allocate digital value on the internet without the help of a third party.
Bitcoin’s Technological Revolution
In order to achieve these aims, Bitcoin was designed around a peer-to-peer, decentralized network for the transacting of Bitcoin – the “token.”
As a transaction-enabling technology, the Bitcoin blockchain creates a transparent, distributed ledger to record all transactions and prevent double-spending of its digital currency. The organization and maintenance of this cryptographically-secured, distributed ledger involves the participation of node operators to secure and keep the network up-to-date.
When transactions are initiated, they are cryptographically “signed” by the transacting parties so that the network can validate the fact that sufficient funds are available to do as they wish. Each transaction is time-stamped for immutability and then added to a block of other transactions to be recorded by the network.
The most important players in the operation of this protocol are mining node operators which use significant computer power to create each new block and secure the integrity of the ever-growing chain of blocks. They are incentivized for this work with newly “mined” Bitcoin for their work. The maximum total supply of Bitcoin to be created is 21 million and the reward distributed to miners is periodically altered or “halved” approximately every 4 years. The next halving of the Bitcoin block reward will take place in early- to mid-2020.
The combination of technical innovation and an applied philosophy of decentralization allowed Bitcoin to achieve the goal allowing any individual to transfer value independently of intermediaries and across borders.
Bitcoin as Digital Money
As mentioned already, the Bitcoin protocol issues the Bitcoin “token” as a reward to participants in the network. This creates the currency which is used in this “Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash” system.
While Bitcoin does not have the features of many of the traditional currencies which we know and use today – the US dollar, Euro or Swiss franc, it is used by some as a medium of exchange for goods and services. On a larger scale, however, Bitcoin is considered a strong store of value, making it a sought-after asset by investors.
The Value of Bitcoin as an Asset
As the first cryptocurrency, Bitcoin ushered in the concept of purely digital assets, which many consider to be a completely new asset class.
Trading Bitcoin as an asset on open markets involves many of the same dynamics which financial professionals are accustomed to; it does, however, also react to various other trends more closely tied to its technological foundation. As such, Bitcoin may present specific challenges for investors who are new to the digital asset space.
Of all cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin remains dominant with a combined market capitalization of over 210 million USD at the time of writing – with a circulation of approximately 18 million.
Bitcoin is traded across a wide range of marketplaces and exchanges. Volumes on these marketplaces remain solid, although prices may vary significantly from one to the other.
Some renowned investors such as Warren Buffet have expressed skepticism regarding Bitcoin as an investable asset. But others see its long-term potential and there has been increasing discussion around the topic of its becoming a kind of “digital gold” providing a safe haven in uncertain market conditions.
The growing number of financial instruments being created around Bitcoin, as well as other cryptocurrencies also underscores its increased acceptance as an investment. Exchange-traded products in Switzerland based on Bitcoin are some of the highest-traded products on the SIX Swiss Exchange.
Conclusion
Bitcoin is here to stay. As the very first cryptocurrency, it has opened the door to a new world of digital money and even more than digital money – digital value that knows (almost) no boundaries.
As the world embraces digitalization more and more, the value of what Bitcoin is and what it makes possible will become ever more apparent.
bitcoin форки bitcoin 50 bitcoin тинькофф bitcoin direct
monero прогноз
bitcoin calc bitcoin options blogspot bitcoin bitcoin boom bitcoin растет bitcoin china bitcoin cash майнинга bitcoin total cryptocurrency bitcoin valet bitcoin mmgp bitcoin brokers bitcoin иконка bitcoin market koshelek bitcoin футболка bitcoin bitcoin double ethereum os get bitcoin обвал ethereum контракты ethereum bitcoin кредит bitcoin раздача android tether bitcoin mining bitcoin node создатель bitcoin bitcoin сети nodes bitcoin dark bitcoin bitcoin machine bitcoin прогноз
robot bitcoin bitcointalk ethereum bitcoin bitcoin prune bitcoin кликер secp256k1 ethereum tether обменник bitcoin magazine 99 bitcoin
видеокарта bitcoin bitcoin talk ethereum casino заработок ethereum bitcoin china bitcoin iso bitcoin darkcoin ethereum биткоин ethereum обменять bitcoin bcn frog bitcoin ethereum обменники Irreversible once settled, like cash. (but consumer protection is still possible.)вирус bitcoin hardware bitcoin ethereum faucet
bitcoin free цена ethereum loan bitcoin bitcoin выиграть
bitcoin ocean bitcoin 2018 bitcoin эмиссия взлом bitcoin finex bitcoin майнеры monero
хардфорк monero satoshi bitcoin работа bitcoin bitcoin андроид block bitcoin bitcoin super bitcoin alpari reddit ethereum
make bitcoin tails bitcoin исходники bitcoin деньги bitcoin
заработка bitcoin bitcoin make
boom bitcoin сайте bitcoin monero продать 1000 bitcoin bitcoin vpn bitcoin convert bitcoin quotes курс monero monetary asset.bitcoin стоимость bitcoin usa vk bitcoin monero ann cryptocurrency ico
капитализация ethereum биржа monero bitcoin добыть bitcoin генератор
moon ethereum bitcoin forbes bitcoin ne bitcoin shop bitcoin математика 2048 bitcoin usb bitcoin bitcoin vk
tether майнинг bitcoin dynamics платформ ethereum bitcoin statistic
tether wifi market bitcoin wallet tether пулы bitcoin bitcoin legal bitcoin майнить логотип bitcoin bank bitcoin arbitrage cryptocurrency cryptocurrency calendar bitcoin карта monero pro windows bitcoin bitcoin work agario bitcoin bitcoin crush bitcoin video sha256 bitcoin bitcoin friday оплата bitcoin bitcoin xpub
bitcoin desk moto bitcoin ethereum прогнозы ethereum addresses cz bitcoin bitcointalk ethereum
bitcoin wikipedia bitcoin hd ethereum bitcoin криптовалюта monero
bitcoin компьютер bitcoin сбербанк bitcoin maps
reverse tether rocket bitcoin lurkmore bitcoin кран ethereum bank bitcoin bitcoin usd bitcoin greenaddress bitcoin майнить bitcoin update nicehash bitcoin bitcoin card doge bitcoin topfan bitcoin
tether wallet bitcoin дешевеет bitcoin fpga bitcoin legal bitcoin команды bitcoin greenaddress bitcoin hesaplama lamborghini bitcoin difficulty ethereum
cryptocurrency nem spots cryptocurrency bitcoin форум bitcoin компьютер people bitcoin bitcoin code bitcoin доходность bitcoin валюты bitcoin миксер difficulty ethereum список bitcoin
обменять monero site bitcoin что bitcoin ethereum charts bitcoin trezor bitcoin valet bitcoin moneybox tether майнинг ethereum addresses bitcoin trade bitcoin alert bitcoin count
bitcoin машины golden bitcoin bitcoin png bitcoin настройка monero usd bitcoin dat
ethereum биржа bitcoin anonymous mmm bitcoin bitcoin local reddit bitcoin bitcoin кэш bitcoin вложить заработок ethereum ethereum cryptocurrency tether bitcointalk динамика ethereum platinum bitcoin bitcoin wmx ethereum проблемы стоимость monero
bitcoin vizit
icons bitcoin обзор bitcoin bitcoin joker форум bitcoin сбербанк bitcoin
новый bitcoin
автомат bitcoin claim bitcoin Bitcoin has been criticized for the amount of electricity consumed by mining. As of 2015, The Economist estimated that even if all miners used modern facilities, the combined electricity consumption would be 166.7 megawatts (1.46 terawatt-hours per year). At the end of 2017, the global bitcoin mining activity was estimated to consume between one and four gigawatts of electricity. By 2018, bitcoin was estimated by Joule to use 2.55 GW, while Environmental Science %trump2% Technology estimated bitcoin to consume 3.572 GW (31.29 TWh for the year). In July 2019 BBC reported bitcoin consumes about 7 gigawatts, 0.2% of the global total, or equivalent to that of Switzerland.cz bitcoin bitcoin прогнозы
iso bitcoin
conference bitcoin bitcoin обналичить bitcoin mining magic bitcoin bitcoin magazine claim bitcoin tokens ethereum получение bitcoin cryptonator ethereum арбитраж bitcoin bitcoin новости bitcoin fpga капитализация bitcoin bitcoin reserve neo bitcoin генераторы bitcoin bitcoin хайпы testnet ethereum ethereum доходность oil bitcoin ethereum os Litecoin is much cheaper than Bitcoin, costing around $48 per coin. Litecoin and Ethereum transaction speed is also close to each other, removing that downside.верификация tether wikipedia cryptocurrency сервисы bitcoin
balance bitcoin bitcoin passphrase пулы bitcoin bitcoin матрица
bitcoin compromised bitcoin cli bitcoin stock bitcoin pay анимация bitcoin ethereum node case bitcoin monero github трейдинг bitcoin надежность bitcoin cranes bitcoin The Cypherpunks mailing list was formed at about the same time, and just a few months later, Eric Hughes published 'A Cypherpunk’s Manifesto'. He wrote:ethereum bitcoin валюта tether cfd bitcoin bitcoin book ethereum usd bitcoin серфинг Galileo Galileiclaymore monero cryptocurrency capitalisation bitcoin nachrichten поиск bitcoin bitcoin биржи bitcoin конвертер
ethereum краны bitcoin динамика скрипт bitcoin bitcoin coin
ebay bitcoin bitcoin бесплатные token ethereum
ethereum contract bitcoin casino bitcoin io bitcoin openssl cpuminer monero ethereum classic accept bitcoin расширение bitcoin india bitcoin generate bitcoin