Bitcoin 101 - Bitcoin for Beginners

Bitcoin is the biggest cryptocurrency in the crypto industry. So much so that it is universally accepted by almost every crypto-based businesses like Bitcasino. If you are new to the currency then here's everything you need to know about Bitcoin.

Clarifications About Bitcoin

The Bitcoin Currency

The word 'Bitcoin' generally refers to the currency itself. It is a type of digital money with its value relative to real money like Japanese yen and US dollars. It is also prone to inflation, deflation, and halving like real money which is caused by the basic laws of supply and demand. 

Bitcoin is not regulated by a bank. That is its main appeal. Instead, it is regulated by anyone willing to help maintain the blockchain. 

The nature of the blockchain made it prone to sudden changes in population. It can have thousands of new miners and users in a week. As a result, the value of Bitcoin can jump or drop in a matter of minutes. 

The problem of Bitcoin with scalability is the reason so many new cryptocurrencies were made. Each one attempts to create a more stable coin. 

Blockchain Technology

Another core part of Bitcoin is its platform called the 'blockchain'. It works in a similar way to banks. It helps transfer people's money from one place to another or another person's ownership.

Just like how banks keep track of who owns which asset in a ledger, the blockchain does this using data. When a person wants to send Bitcoin to somebody, the blockchain changes the ownership of these assets to somebody else. It will record the previous owners of the Bitcoin while also adding the new owner. 

Bitcoin Miners

The proof of ownership is stored in a cluster of data called a block. The network that connects these 'blocks' is called the 'blockchain'.

When people transfer money, the bank validates the transaction by proving who owns the money and justifying if this transfer is legal. The part that scares people is how banks owned by a single institution is prone to negligence or corruption. Instead of giving this power to only one governing body, the blockchain gives this power to people maintaining the blockchain called 'miners'.

This 'validation' of transactions is also not done by people. This process is fully automated by computers. Miners simply create mining farms or computers whose only purpose is to stay online all the time to give its processing power to the blockchain. 

Uses of Bitcoin 

Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are used as real money. They are accepted by many stores but not all. Most people can only complete their trade online instead of going to a physical store. It is difficult to say which businesses accept Bitcoin or any other cryptocurrencies so always carry real money. Some foundations and companies accept Bitcoin as an investment.