Bitcoin has become one of the biggest cryptocurrency in the world. Whether you are interested in cryptocurrencies or you’re a complete beginner, you have probably heard the term’ Bitcoin’ in the media. Today, the hype around Bitcoin is not already present among crypto enthusiasts but also many business sectors, governments, and individuals that want to invest in BTC. In case you’re also a beginner that wants to learn more about Bitcoin, we have compiled a list of five essential facts that you should know as a beginner.
The Creator
Bitcoin was developed by Satoshi Nakamoto and launched in 2009. Previously, he published the famous white paper ‘Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System’ in 2008. The paper explained how blockchain technology essentially supports the use of Bitcoin for its main purpose of transferring money over the internet. The blockchain network is also known under the name decentralized, and a peer-to-peer electronic cash system that doesn’t need a third party to approve and process the transactions in the network.
As a matter of fact, the whole system was developed to function entirely without a central authority. In the beginning, Satoshi Nakamoto corresponded with fellow crypto enthusiasts and developers that helped him with the blockchain network.
Some of them are pretty known today as the early adopters – Hal Finney and Lazlo Hanyecz. Satoshi remained anonymous, and after the network started operating, he vanished. No one knows his real identity, even though he has made an amazing innovation that is widely used today.
Bitcoin Miners
You will definitely come across the term mining as you learn more about Bitcoin. Bitcoin mining is a process where new BTC enters into circulation facilitated by the so-called ‘miners’ in the network. They need to solve computational puzzles in order to create a new Bitcoin and simultaneously validate a block of transactions in the network.
Afterward, they are able to claim their block reward. For their work, they use high-end computers and spend a lot of time and energy to solve computational problems. That being said, miners are crucial in maintaining the ledger of transactions and the security of the blockchain network.
Online Trading
Even though we can’t deny that mining is very important, it is not a viable option for many people that want to obtain BTC. Thus, there was a real need for online exchange platforms. Of course, in the beginning, there weren’t really a lot of trading sites. A good example is Bitcoinmarket.com. It was one of the first trading sites that allowed users to invest in BTC, but it stopped working due to technical and security issues.
Fortunately, nowadays, there’s a variety of trading sites to choose from. For example, when you visit https://bitqt.org/ , you will find a platform that is great for beginners. It is an RSA encrypted platform, which means the security of the members is of paramount importance to them. Furthermore, it uses an AI-powered robot that completes the technical aspects of the trading process. Hence, it will be very easy to start trading as you will also access the comprehensive trading guide. In order to complete the registration on the website, you need to deposit at least $250.
Bitcoin Halving
Another important part of the Bitcoin ecosystem is Bitcoin halving. This is an event that reduces the reward miners get, and it also cuts the inflation in half. It’s a very important event designed by Satoshi Nakamoto to control the inflation rate of Bitcoin. The event happens after 210,000 blocks are added to the network, or roughly it happens every four years.
The last halving should happen around 2024. In order for the halving to work, Satoshi limited the entire supply of BTC to 21 million. By now, we have already discovered around 18 million BTC. Needless to say, as there is a restricted number of BTC, the price historically has risen after a halving. In fact, a lot of experts agree that the halving on 11 May 2020 is among the reasons why Bitocin entered a bullish cycle.
The Price of Bitcoin
In conclusion, the price of bitcoin is influenced by the supply and demand for the cryptocurrency. When there’s a higher demand for the cryptocurrency, the price rises, and, as we mentioned before, the available number of BTC is restricted, hence based on the ratio of the supply and demand, the price increases.
However, beyond the impact of supply and demand, other events influence the price. For example, speculations in the media can also affect it. This happens because this is still a new technology that isn’t used on a large scale. But, this will change in the future as even now, there is a great number of organizations and businesses that are adopting BTC and accepting payments in BTC.
