Cryptocurrencies have spawned many millionaires but most persons don’t know how they work and why the prices keep surging upwards in spectacular fashion.
Bitcoin, the most popular of the cryptocurrencies, gets huge attention globally, as the price has skyrocketed from nothing to the US$20,000 recently. The price pulled back in the last two weeks but still sits at a spectacular $16,700.
The crypto prefix in cryptocurrency comes from cryptography, the practice and study of techniques for secure communication in the presence of third parties. Blockchain is a decentralized ledger in which a continuously growing list of records called blocks are linked, secured, and distributed across networks of computers.
Bitcoin mining is a process where computers are used to verify a block of transactions along the bitcoin blockchain, which are then put through a process that applies a mathematical formula to them. That then turns the block into a random sequence of letters and numbers known as a “hash.” The hash is stored along with the block, at the end of the blockchain, at the point in time it is authenticated.
Participants on the blockchain has access to all records of all transactions, including the most newly made. Anyone can mine blocks (by identifying them by their hash and confirming them) and earn a reward of 25 bitcoins. Bitcoin has no intrinsic value, its utility as a currency is limited to those who choose to use it.
Bitcoins can be traded by signing up to a bitcoin wallet service at exchanges such as, Coinbase, Blockchain.info, and Xapo. Signing up is similar to any other website by entering name and email address and password to get started. After that, it’s time to connect your bank account, debit card, or credit card.
Bitcoin what is it really?
January 7, 2018 by
