If you don’t know what Bitcoin is, it is the first accepted type of cryptocurrency. It exists outside of governments and banking systems. All you have to do is install a Bitcoin wallet app and you will be ready to use it. Because the system is open source, it can be accessed to anyone. It was first introduced in 2009 and it has gained significantly in popularity since then. Today, more and more businesses accept it as a form of payment.
What the Bitcoin Wallet App Enables You to Do
One of the key things about Bitcoin is that it allows for anonymous trading. No one country owns the currency and there are no regulations surrounding it. Exchanging money can be done without having to pay for transaction fees as well. It is no surprise, therefore, that people are seeing it as a viable and profitable investment.
If you have a bitcoin wallet app, be that on your computer or smartphone, you can head to a bitcoin exchange and buy or sell bitcoin. You can do this by using your own fiat currency. You simply install the wallet app, open an account, and add fiat money with which you can purchase bitcoin. There are now even special ATM machines where you can purchase bitcoin from!
Alternatively, you could mine for bitcoin, which is the original way of doing it. Mining means that you are presented with a mathematical puzzle and, if you solve it, you will be rewarded with bitcoin. There is a finite amount of bitcoin available, however, and therefore a finite number of calculations that have been getting progressively more difficult. That said, it is still possible to solve one in around 10 minutes if you have some mathematical understanding.
Once you start trading bitcoin, you will use your wallet to store the digital currency. This is your virtual account in which all your coins are stored. You can use these completely anonymously, making up a name as you see fit. You will instead by supplied with a bitcoin ID, which is what you will use for all your transactions. Doing so has ensured every transaction is completely private, meaning you can buy and sell whatever you want without anybody ever knowing about it. The system itself is completely secure as it is protected by encryption and complex mathematical data. This means that it is also legal, which is equally important.
The bitcoin system and the overall market control the number of bitcoin that are out there. The system also adjusts the mathematical equation so that it becomes increasingly difficult to solve. At one point, all the bitcoin will have been mined and they can only then be traded between those who hold them. What the impact of this will be on the currency’s value is unknown.
Bitcoin, clearly, is more than a currency. For many, it is an investment. They see in it the future of finances and they believe that the finite nature if the currency will make it more valuable as well.