Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency and worldwide payment system. It was invented in 2009 by an unknown person or group of people using the alias Satoshi Nakamoto. Transactions are made without middlemen, so there are no transaction fees and no need to give your real name. Bitcoin has attracted speculation due to its volatility, but it’s still not too late to invest as Bitcoin prices have only increased since the beginning of 2017! This article will answer all you need to know about the cryptocurrency Bitcoin including who created bitcoin, how many bitcoins exist today and more!
How does Bitcoin work?
Unlike the old version of currency, Bitcoin is backed by blockchain and extraction. The former provides a public ledger for all transactions to be recorded on while the latter keeps track of new bitcoins created through mining or trading with other users.
Bitcoin needs two mechanisms in order to work properly: block chain that records every transaction occurring across it, and machine-specific resources like processing power (to solve computational puzzles) and electricity (necessary energy source). Unlike paper money which stores value without much useable features beyond what can be seen from an eye test alone, this digital coin has added layers thanks to its underlying technologies – both hardware related but notably different ways of achieving similar goals so as not only maintain their integrity but also allow them grow over time via a process called bitcoin halving.
Who invented Bitcoin?
Bitcoin was invented by a person or group of people who go under the name Satoshi Nakamoto. However, it is not known whether bitcoin’s inventor is an individual or a collective.
How many Bitcoins are there in total?
There is a total of 21 million Bitcoin. At the rate of 2.4 million mined per year, it will take around 11-12 more decades before all coins have been discovered and put into circulation. The time left to mine Bitcoins is only 119 years, but there are still plenty available.
How many Bitcoins are there in circulation?
There are 16,235,245 Bitcoin in circulation today.
Benefits to using Bitcoin
There are many benefits to Bitcoin, most notably the lack of a centralized authority controlling it and therefore able to make decisions on what is best for Bitcoin as an individual entity or human beings within that economy. The poweful computational abilities enable Bitcoin wallets to offer higher levels of security against hacking than traditional banking institutions.
One of the most cited benefits to Bitcoin is its ability to give power back to those who are often marginalized or left out in traditional banking and financial systems – namely, people without access to a bank account.
What is Bitcoin halving?
In order for Bitcoin mining to remain profitable over time, an event called Bitcoin halving occurs. Bitcoin halving is a Bitcoin mining reward event that happens every 210 000 blocks found by miners on average at approximately four year intervals (more information). The first bitcoin halving happened on November 28th 2012 when it went from being a total of 50 Bitcoin per block to 25 Bitcoin.
How can I buy Bitcoin?
The most common way of investing in bitcoin is by buying it on an online exchange, such as Coinbase or Kraken.