What is Bitcoin?

Bitcoin is the first decentralized global currency, also known as cryptocurrency. It is a form of digital public money that can be transferred between people without the involvement of a third party, such as a bank. Bitcoin was created in year 2009 by unknown programmer using the alias Satoshi Nakamoto. The transactions take place between the users directly and the transactions are verified by network nodes. The transactions are further recorded in an online public ledger called the Blockchain.

Owning and Using Bitcoins

The Bitcoin value varies daily and has been increasing over the past few years. It is stipulated that only 21 million Bitcoins can ever be created. Bitcoin, being unregulated and decentralized does not have a central bank and hence it does not need to have any banking fees. The value of every Bitcoin resides in each Bitcoin itself and the transaction fees for using the Bitcoin is negligible.

Owning a Bitcoin is just like owning gold coins, the value of which increases over time. It being virtual money, it can be used to buy and sell things online; or wait for its value to increase over time like a digital asset; or traded like a commodity from one exchange wallet to another.