What is Bitcoin?
Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency and worldwide payment system. It is the first decentralized digital currency, as the system works without a central bank or single administrator.
It has no physical existence like all other regular currencies.
According to some trusted sources, bitcoin is the term first coined by Satoshi Nakamoto in 2009.But there is a lot of speculation surrounding it.
But the fact is bitcoin is emerging one of the most dominating currencies worldwide threatening the existence of the conventional currencies.
How to get Bitcoin?
You can get bitcoins generally by three ways:
- Buying it from bitcoin exchanges.
- Mining the bitcoins.
- Accepting bitcoins in exchange for goods and services.
How do you get bitcoins for free?
Bitcoins can get free by mining only.But this mining is not a simple task.
As bitcoins are a decentralized form of currency there is really no-one controlling them. So there should be some mechanism to validate the transaction. Assume that Adam sent some bitcoins to you, now how can you verify that Adam will not send the same bitcoin to any other person.That’s where mining comes into play. These miners actually validate these type of bitcoin transactions to earn bitcoins.
Now, these validation requires a lot of computation power and involves solving complex mathematical problems to get these coins. The mining generally includes using cryptographic hash functions to validate the transaction data. Generally, it requires millions of computing power worldwide to do such type of mining. As the number of bitcoins is also limited the mining is also getting more and more difficult day by day.
So yes you can get bitcoins for free but it requires a great effort to do this.
How does the Bitcoin work?
Bitcoins are entirely virtual currency and which has no physical existence.You can’t touch it.
Once you get some portion of bitcoin.It is securely deposited in a virtual personal wallet.
When you need to transact you then just simply send some bitcoins to the destination wallet. There is no middleman or central authority involved in it.
Is it illegal to mine or trade Bitcoins?
The use of trading and mining of bitcoins varies according to different countries and corresponding authorities. While some countries have made it am alternative currency, others have imposed a strict ban on bitcoins.Trading and using bitcoins in these countries are treated as a criminal offense.
On the flipside, there are many regions and countries who have not any specific rules about that and in these regions, bitcoins are used among some private communities. For example countries like India has not imposed any specific rule against bitcoins yet so people trading bitcoins in India is not doing any criminal offense by law.
Here is a list of some major countries where bitcoins are treated as legal and illegal.
- European Union
- Algeria
- Nigeria
- South Africa
- Namibia
- Zimbabwe
- Canada
- United States
- Mexico
- Nicaragua
- Jamaica
- Argentina
- Brazil
- Chile
- Colombia
- India
- Saudi Arabia
- Pakistan
Major Countries Where Bitcoins Treated as Illegal:
- Morocco
- Bolivia
- Ecuador
- Kyrgyzstan
- Bangladesh
- Nepal
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legality_of_bitcoin_by_country_or_territory
How safe is the Bitcoin?
Now when its come to safety nobody can guarantee the returns. Since it is a type of financial investment there are also some underlying risks involved when dealing with bitcoins.
The value of bitcoin is very volatile and depends a lot on several market factors. It is also a decentralized currency. You may think that when there is no central authority controlling the whole thing how much safe it is. But believe me with the blockchain system involved in the background it is very safe at least 99% safer than traditional currency.
How do I buy Bitcoins anonymously?
As I mentioned earlier, buying bitcoins can be made through bitcoin exchanges.Som exchanges ask you for your identification documents.Some don’t. If you want to be anonymous choose the appropriate one you prefer.
Here are some recommend links for readers who want to more about Bitcoins:
Bitcoin Explained: This video explains how Bitcoin works in 3 minutes.
The Bitcoin Boom: by Maria Bustillos: Here’s a detailed look at the real-world ramifications of bitcoin
Will Bitcoins Make Me Rich?: by Farhad Manjoo is a technology columnist for the New York Times and the author of True Enough.
Check Also:
List of Best Bitcoin Wallet Apps for Android Users
Best Cryptocurrency Apps for Android Users
conclusion:
Hope you have got the best all of Bitcoin. If you are using anything apps which you think we should mention in the list, you can suggest us in the comments.