Bitcoin defined
The first decentralized peer-to-peer consensus network that enabled a new way of transacting online, Bitcoin was made prominent by its users due to the fact that it is not controlled by any central authority. The government and financial institutions like banks have no power over this technology, just the people that use it. Because of this extraordinary characteristic, bitcoins rose to prominence was somehow anticipated.
Bitcoin’s beginnings
Bitcoin’s concept of “crypto currency” was first described in 1998 by Wei Dai on the cypherpunks mailing list. The idea was to create a new form of currency using cryptography as its foundation so that no central authority controls it. This was eventually implemented by Satoshi Nakamoto in 2009. In late 2010, Satoshi took off and left the project behind without revealing much about his identity. Since then, the community has grown prolifically with several developers working to further understand and develop bitcoins.
Who calls the shots?
Basically, nobody owns the Bitcoin network. It is actually controlled by the entirety of all the Bitcoin users in the world. The users also reach a consensus in using the same software that conforms to the same rules so that compatibility with each other is maintained. Bitcoin’s system was built in a way that in order for it to work properly and efficiently, all users must follow the same guidelines.
Production and Usage
Bitcoin is not printed on paper like the typical currencies. On a user’s perspective, it is more of an internet currency that can be generated through mining, buying on an exchange, or receiving it as payment for goods and services. Despite this, Bitcoin usage has grown prevalent over the years, with more merchants accepting bitcoins as payments from different parts of the world. Acceptance is not limited online as more and more land-based businesses such as hotels, restaurants, apartments, and law firms have also warmed up to the integration of the cryptocurrency in their systems.
