Bitcoin

The bitcoin is considered as one of the criptomonedas most widely used worldwide, a type of currency that is in constant change, evolving every day.

Characteristics of bitcoin

Among its main characteristics are the following:

• The symbol for bitcoin is ฿ and its abbreviation is BTC or XBT .
• It is an electronic currency , free and at the same time decentralized .
• It works the same way as real money.
• They do not have serial numbers by which it can be traced.
• It is not fiat money , in other words, it is not backed by any banking institution.
• It is open source and cannot be censored .
• It uses pseudonyms instead of real names for its owners.
• All its units are interchangeable and payments made with bitcoin are irreversible, they cannot be changed or eliminated.

History

The history of bitcoin begins in 2009 when it was created by Satoshi Nakamoto , a pseudonym for its creator. It was designed with the aim of being able to make a type of virtual currency to be able to make purchases online more easily. Initially, it had very little value, but it gradually rose considerably to as much as $ 750 to $ 1,000. In February 2018, the currency also suffered a large devaluation , losing approximately 80% of its total value.

How bitcoin works

Bitcoin is a type of virtual currency that works on the basis of cryptography , mining and the peer to peer blockchain , in other words, without any kind of intermediary. Through cryptography, the messages issued are inaccessible to unauthorized third parties, making the system secure, while avoiding possible forgery or hacking .

Through mining, bitcoin uses a series of hardware and software to be able to process, validate and even restrict the transactions that are carried out. Finally, the Bitcoin network, a type of peer to peer network implies that transactions can be made from person to person.

Mining

Bitcoin mining involves the use of a specific miner or computer that is responsible for solving a series of encrypted mathematical calculations . It can be said that it is a process through which capacity can be invested to process transactions, provide security on the network and synchronize all users.

Mining can be seen as the Bitcoin data center , it works in all countries and is decentralized so that no specific person has full access and control over the network. It is a process through which new bitcoins are issued . The people who work in this field are known by the name of miners and are in charge of following up the transactions by verifying the blocks continuously.

What is bitcoin for

The Bitcoin is a currency that serves to make cancellations so anonymously anywhere in the world without any currency to make changes. They are currencies that help to make international payments without having to pay large sums of money for it. With it , money can be bought , sent or transferred quickly and easily.

Value

In terms of its value, bitcoin is a type of deflationary currency and for this reason, it is less. Currently, the value of bitcoin is US $ 11,837.15 and has a trading volume of $ 21,800,955,528 in 24 hours.

Legality

The legality of bitcoin is a bit difficult to determine with certainty as there is an unknown area in many places there is an area without establishing regarding them. In most countries, the legislation establishes the banks as the ones in charge of issuing the money, so in many, the use of bitcoin is prohibited. However, the cryptocurrency does not have an exclusivity nor is it vital either as a monetary species, on the contrary, it is classified as a type of property , merchandise , asset or value , so, to be designated as a crime , the authorities will see that defineWell what is a bitcoin and for what reasons, its use, would bring legal consequences .

Advantage

Among the main advantages of using bitcoin currencies, it can be mentioned that thanks to its decentralized system , third parties are prevented from having access to the money or the credentials of a user so that nobody can enter to freeze funds or to close the account, it is one of the safest means of saving money.

The transactions that use bitcoin can be done so immediately so there is no waiting time and can also be made anywhere in the world. It does not have intermediaries of any kind and this makes the costs to carry out a transaction lower, saving large sums of money mainly when the funds must be transferred to other countries. It keeps fraud away as its use prevents a person from breaking an agreement. It gives a lot of security to the person who sells and to the one who buys because it is not necessary to reveal information considered as sensitive.

Disadvantages

Among its main disadvantages we can mention that bitcoin has an emission limit , this on the one hand can be positive because it avoids the loss of value but, being deflationary, it can cause its accumulation and depress the economy . It is also very volatile so it has to suffer from big price rises. Despite the fact that many commercial establishments accept payment through cryptocurrency, there is still a long way to go before it is well accepted.

There is no regulatory body so many people tend to feel fear when using it. This type of currency, being completely anonymous , can at certain times be used to carry out illegal activities and to avoid paying those tax obligations .

Risks

One of the main uses of bitcoin is its use in illicit activities and that the fluctuations to which it is subjected can cause a person to completely lose their investment. This can happen because the price of bitcoin rises and falls without taking into account a specific pattern, causing many to lose money. In addition, errors in user addresses can cause bitcoin to be sent to the wrong place with no possibility of recovering it. The Exchange where the money is kept can also be hacked as well as the accounts .

Future of bitcoin

The future of bitcoin is uncertain because for many, investing with it includes a series of risks that not many are willing to take. Due to its high volatility , many experts assure that little by little its use will decrease, although this may also be merely speculation.

On the other hand, some experts consider that it can become a very valuable form of investment, making it again one of the favorite methods of collection , payment and as a type of monetary support . In any case, the digital world in which we live today and the dependence on technology , continue to give a positive scenario to this cryptocurrency compared to traditional currencies.

Curiosities

Some curiosities regarding bitcoin are the following:

• The true identity of the person who invented bitcoin is not known to date.
• The first transaction that was made using bitcoin was a successful business to buy a pizza for 000 bitcoins , it should be considered that by November 2017, 10,000 bitcoins were equivalent to 99 million dollars .
• Some companies accept the currency for customers to buy things.
• It has been used to buy drugs and to carry out illicit activities.