Bitcoin overviews
Bitcoin (BTC) is a cryptocurrency that operates in a decentralized manner and was initially introduced in a 2008 whitepaper by an individual or group going by the name Satoshi Nakamoto. It was launched in January 2009 and is unique in that transactions are conducted directly between network participants, without any need for an intermediary to authorize or facilitate them. The primary goal of BTC, as stated by Nakamoto, was to enable the transfer of online payments directly from one party to another without relying on financial institutions. While there were similar concepts for decentralized electronic currencies before BTC, it was the first to become widely used as a cryptocurrency.
Team
The founder of Bitcoin is known by the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto, and their true identity remains unknown as of 2023. In October 2008, Nakamoto released a whitepaper detailing how a decentralized, peer-to-peer online currency could be implemented. This proposal relied on a blockchain system, which is a decentralized ledger of transactions secured by cryptographic algorithms. Two months later, in January 2009, Nakamoto mined the first block on the Bitcoin network, also known as the genesis block, effectively launching the world’s first cryptocurrency. While most Bitcoins were originally obtained through mining, the first known commercial transaction occurred in May 2010 when Laszlo Hanyecz traded 10,000 Bitcoins for two pizzas, an event that is now known as “Bitcoin Pizza Day.” Although Nakamoto was the original inventor of Bitcoin, Gavin Andresen took over control of the code repository and the network alert key. The Bitcoin software has been improved over the years by contributions from many individuals, with more than 750 contributors listed on its source code repository on GitHub, including key contributors such as Wladimir J. van der Laan, Marco Falke, Pieter Wuille, Gavin Andresen, Jonas Schnelli, and others.
Competitive advantage
Bitcoin’s uniqueness stems from its status as the first cryptocurrency to enter the market, allowing it to establish a global community and catalyze the emergence of an entirely new industry with millions of enthusiasts who invest in, trade, and use Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in their daily lives. Its success also inspired the development of thousands of competing projects and served as the conceptual and technological basis for the entire cryptocurrency market, which is now worth over $2 trillion. BTC’s innovative nature has kept it at the top of the energetic market even after more than a decade of existence, with a market capitalization that surpassed $1 trillion in 2021. This is largely due to growing institutional interest and the ubiquity of platforms that provide use-cases for BTC, including wallets, exchanges, payment services, and online games.
Total supply
The amount of Bitcoin in circulation is limited to 21,000,000 coins, as defined by its software. These coins are created through a process called mining, where miners package transactions into blocks and earn rewards for adding these blocks to the blockchain. The block reward started at 50 bitcoins per block at the time of Bitcoin’s launch and is halved every 210,000 new blocks mined, which occurs approximately every four years. Currently, the block reward is 6.25 bitcoins, after being halved three times. Bitcoin has not been premined, and the earliest network participants were able to accumulate significant amounts of coins through regular mining when competition between miners was low. Mining Bitcoin can be profitable for miners, depending on the current hash rate and Bitcoin price. As of mid-September 2021, the mining reward is 6.25 BTC, or approximately $299,200 at current Bitcoin prices.
The Lightning Network innovation to Bitcoin
The Lightning Network is a layered payment protocol that operates off-chain, utilizing bidirectional payment channels to allow for instantaneous transfers with instant reconciliation. This innovative technology facilitates private, high-volume, and trustless transactions between any two parties. With the Lightning Network, transaction capacity can be scaled without incurring the costs typically associated with transactions and interventions on the underlying blockchain.
Where to buy BTC
Bitcoin (BTC) can be purchased on numerous cryptocurrency exchanges using fiat currencies or other cryptocurrencies. Some of the most well-known exchanges where BTC trading is available include:
- Coinbase Pro
- OKEx
- Kraken
- Huobi Global
- Bitfinex
- Binance
It’s important to do your research and choose a reputable exchange that is available in your country and offers the features you need, such as low fees and a user-friendly interface. Additionally, some exchanges require users to complete a verification process before buying or selling Bitcoin, so be prepared to provide identification documents.
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