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Essential pointsBitcoin is an electronic currency known as a cryptocurrencyThe peer-to-peer technology underpinning it's known as the blockchain a people ledger of transactionsBitcoins can be stored in a digital wallet and used to buy other currencies or real world goods

Where once a single bitcoin was worth a few cents it is now worth about $9,200 per coin (November 2017), creating millionaires in the process.There have been many reported cases where people mined thousands of comparatively useless bitcoins as a hobby years ago, only to now realise they are rich.One IT worker even threw out a hard drive containing 7,500 bitcoins.

This is done without a central authority or bank.Who created itBitcoin and the blockchain technology was made by someone under the pseudonym of Satoshi Nakamoto and released as a working beta in 2009. Satoshi's true identity remains a mystery as he vanished from the scene in 2010 after seemingly handing over the reins into Gavin Andresen, the chief scientist in the Bitcoin Foundation.Over years numerous individuals have promised to be Satoshi, including Australian computer scientist Craig Wright.

Once the limit is reached, no longer bitcoins can be made.However, a single bitcoin can be subdivided as far down as the eighth decimal place (0.00000001BTC) to buy smaller goods using just a fraction of the coin.How do you store or send bitcoinYou can shop and send bitcoins via an encrypted digital wallet, which is run as an app on your computer.The wallet functions using two keys a private key and a public key which seem like a seemingly random string of numbers and letters.The private key is kept secret by you and functions as a password that unlocks the wallet and lets you send any bitcoins associated with that.

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If the website gets hacked or someone gets your login information that they can get and drain your funds from the exchange.There is no way for a transaction to be reversed or recovered if a thief sends your bitcoins to their wallet.After buying your coins you should transfer them into a secure digital click here to read pocket made by you and not hosted online.You can even write down the wallet's private key on a piece of paper (that is known as a paper wallet) click here now and stick it in a safe.If you don't store the personal key on your computer or online then recipients can never break in and get your funds.

Bitcoin means different things to different people. For some, it is a future of freely moving currency untied to any central bank. To others, it is a purely digital entity of questionable value and dubious origin. But what is Bitcoin, in the most elementary senseIn most casual conversations, you can get away with knowing that bitcoin is, basically, an electronic currency.

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In reality, it is two much more complex things.Bitcoin has been with us since 2009, when a person (or group) under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto introduced a platform (Bitcoin, uppercase) that hosts a digital currency (bitcoin, lowercase). Bitcoin the platform is built on the concept of proof of work data that is expensive and time-intensive to produce but can be easily verified.

To mine a bitcoin, a computer must finish a complicated algorithm, essentially going through the job of an extensive calculation in exchange for some newly minted currency. That bit of electronic currency is worth whatever the market decides through supply and demand.Transactions are connected to some users Bitcoin address, which can be stored on its general ledger, called the blockchain.

This relative anonymity makes the system appealing for things such as incognito purchases within the internet.A key component of Bitcoins blockchain is the simple fact it is an open, distributed ledger. Throughout the dispersed nature of the ledger, the transactions on the blockchain are confirmed by the consensus of every member, offering security and trust without a third-party overseer.One of the most important things to bear in mind when thinking about what Bitcoin (or bitcoin) is: there is no single answer.