A person who wants to own or use Bitcoins can choose to run a Bitcoin client on her own personal computer, or she can create an account on an independent website that runs a Bitcoin client for users of that site.
virtually impossible to hack. The computers running the
Bitcoins from one location to another, so Bitcoins may be
network are spread across the globe and there is no entity
redeemed and sent to a new address if and only if the
or monetary authority overseeing the mining process.
author of the transaction itself uses the private key in his
Unlike other trendy technology sector players such as
possession to initiate the transaction. The Bitcoin protocol
Uber, Lyft or AirBnB, Bitcoin is neither a company nor an
associates the ownership of a Bitcoin with a private key,
entity.
not with an individual’s name or any other identifying information. Therefore, the loss of a private key means
Bitcoin resembles email, in that it’s a person-to-person this case, funds) to be transferred efficiently. A person who wants to own or use Bitcoins can choose to
Once each block of transactions over a 10 minute period is confirmed – meaning that a miner has verified that all transactions in the block are valid and the miner has proved to more than 50 percent of the rest of miners that his work was accurate — then that mined-block is added to the existing chain of previous transactions (hence “block-chain”). Miners’ ledgers are automatically updated to reflect the latest additions to the chain, and the single miner who added the block receives a Bitcoin reward. The process of verifying transactions is essentially a computer race among miners where the winner receives Bitcoin. The Bitcoin code is programmed to automatically release a set amount of Bitcoin to the quickest miner for every 10 minute period. This is how Bitcoin are released into circulation without the need for a monetary authority.
that all Bitcoins associated with that private key are lost.
internet-based technology that allows information (and in
SO WHY WOULD I USE BITCOIN?
run a Bitcoin client on her own personal computer, or she
“Bitcoin has a small core of believers, but the mainstream
can create an account on an independent website that
isn’t jumping into Bitcoin,” said Norton, in an E-Commerce
runs a Bitcoin client for users of that site. The Bitcoin client
Times article. “That’s why it will be a while, if ever, before
saves a user’s Bitcoins in a “digital wallet” that the user
Bitcoin becomes ubiquitous.”
must secure and back up. These clients and programs all connect to each other over the internet, forming peer-to-
Bitcoin usage hasn’t quite made its way to the everyday
peer networks.
consumer, but some retailers are taking the first steps, and it’s a perfectly suited form of currency for emerging
To own a quantity of Bitcoins, one has to author a
countries without central banks or other financial
transaction for that amount. The Bitcoin network will
intermediaries. It also has advantages for those dealing in
verify that amount, using a digital signature or key.
international exchanges, anonymous purchases and for
There are two types of keys. The first is the private key,
businesses dealing in the global economy.
which is a very large random number known only by the Bitcoin’s owner. The second is the public key, which
According to Coinbase, an online Bitcoin information
is derived from a complex mathematical function and
community network, there are some specific reasons
decrypts messages encoded with the associated private
people choose to use Bitcoins.
key. This public key is freely available to anyone, but both keys must be used to complete a transaction. Bitcoin transactions are basically encrypted messages that instruct the Bitcoin network to move an allocation of
Since the Bitcoin network is public and open-access, every computer in the network has a copy of every Bitcoin transaction that has occurred. The database, known as Bitcoin’s public ledger, refreshes the record of Bitcoin transactions every 10 minutes. The blockchain is seen by many as the most important aspect of Bitcoin. This groundbreaking decentralized public ledger is at Bitcoin’s technological core. The decentralization of Bitcoin and the blockchain make it
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“Bitcoin has a small core of believers, but the mainstream isn’t jumping into Bitcoin.”