Thu. Mar 28th, 2024

Bitcoin is a form of digital currency created and held electronically. Bitcoin has been slowly growing in popularity over the years, with some major bumps along the way.

The way one obtains bitcoins is that they are “mined” or processed. To do this, one uses a computer along with special bitcoin mining software to solve complex math equations about cryptocurrency. When these are solved, it is called a block.

The process of “mining” bitcoins follows some patterns, but one has to download their free bitcoin miner app, set it up, then let it do its thing. The mined bitcoins are stored/kept in a digital wallet, i.e., the bitcoin wallet. Once one has their bitcoins, they can go to an online store that accepts them as currency or use them through various other websites to buy things like stocks on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

When Did Bitcoin Start?

Bitcoin was created at the height of the financial crisis by an anonymous member or an online community calling themselves Satoshi Nakamoto.

The decision to create a peer-to-peer electronic cash system was motivated by a lack of faith in the ability of government-backed currencies to self-regulate. The creation process involved publishing the original bitcoin press release on 31 October 2008 announcing that an open-source license would be released for bitcoin software after upcoming changes were complete. The first Bitcoin software client was released on 3 January 2009, and work on creating the first transaction blockchain began soon after.

Why Was Bitcoin Created?

Bitcoin was created as a peer-to-peer electronic cash system that is decentralized and can be transferred without going through a financial institution. This decentralized network allows multiple users to transfer payments to each other without going through a bank.

The first Bitcoin specification and proof of concept were published in 2012 in a cryptography mailing list by Satoshi Nakamoto. The community has since grown exponentially, with many developers working on Bitcoin.

Bitcoin Price History

The bitcoin price at the end of 2017 was more than 1 million dollars (US). It has been publicized that the price should continue to rise and go over 2.4 million dollars (US) by 2022.

The price of bitcoin is determined by supply vs. demand. The more people want them, the higher their price gets, for now. People are purchasing bitcoins today due to several reasons: speculation, profit-making, and also ideological. Some individuals purchase based on mainstream media coverage. Others, some people are purchasing because of their own beliefs and judgment.

Every four years, the number of bitcoins that can be mined will half itself. This is part of the design and workings of bitcoin and its algorithm and won’t change in the future. The number of bitcoins has to remain finite, and there’s a mathematical limit to how many will ever exist.

Another reason why the price of bitcoin keeps increasing is due to investor speculation. There are some people who believe that if they invest now in bitcoin and it gets more popular, they will make a huge return on their investment.

Bitcoin Today

Today, bitcoin has become a household name. Due to its volatility and the significant increase in the bitcoin historical price over the past few years, it has attracted many new investors and users who either mine bitcoin or trade on various bitcoin exchanges.

According to the experts at SoFi, Bitcoin is a digital asset and payment system with a built-in limit of 21 million bitcoins, which means no bank or institution can come along and simply “print more money” as they do today. Instead, bitcoins are created digitally by a community of people that anyone can join.

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