You might have heard of Bitcoin before, or this might be your first time reading about it. The point is, you are here and you want to know, what is bitcoin? Or maybe you already know what Bitcoin is and you just want to know what I have to say about it, well I’ll tell you as many other people have said – Bitcoin is something different that will inevitably be a part of our daily lives, and if not Bitcoin, at least the blockchain technology that it's run on.
You see, there was a man, as legend holds, with the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto and he was according to many skeptics, the father of Bitcoin. There are also some people via a google search, that think it was also a conspiracy between a group of software engineers that developed bitcoin. No one truly knows, unless they’re the CIA that monitors all communications …’allegedly’ according to leaked documents by a fellow named Edward Snowden. Let’s continue with Bitcoin – so with the birth of bitcoin came what has made it so famous among nerds, hipsters, celebrities, you and let’s not forget the giants like financial institutions worldwide, what is it that came with bitcoin: the blockchain!
The blockchain is a ledger of cryptographic code made to run on computers that make copies of every transaction that takes place on the bitcoin network. Everything recorded on the blockchain is visible publicly for anyone to see, this brings transparency and trust to the bitcoin network. Millions of computers have the same copy of the blockchain making it a decentralized network because no single institution has full control of bitcoin and this also means no single entity can corrupt it. Even if you wanted to corrupt it, you’d have to corrupt every single copy in the world or at least the majority but that brings more problems and it’s just not worth the impossible effort.
Did I mention that everything on the blockchain is encrypted? It would take someone many lifetimes to crack anything on there, so be rest assured, your funds are safe. Where are the funds stored you may ask? Wallets. Not like the one in your pocket that you can physically pull out. These wallets are like your email address in the sense that each one is a unique address with it’s own unique password. You generate a wallet on the blockchain and you choose your own password for it just like with your email. If you wanted to send someone money you would have to send it to that specific bitcoin address.
The transactions made are irreversible, so if you send your friend money via the blockchain and you added a few too many digits you would have to ask him to send the difference back to you. The inconvenient part about this is if you don’t pay attention and type the wrong address then you can say bye bye to whatever funds you sent because whoever gets funds out of nowhere will probably send blessings while you weep. This would be equivalent to losing paper money in public and a stranger finding it and we all know how that feels, at least I do. Oh don’t worry, why type when you can copy and paste or scan QR codes! This means you can just easily scan the QR code of any recipient and the address is entered for you, the exact address every time. Many services out there also allow you to send bitcoin using someone’s email address, so this further adds safety to your transactions.
Now that we know that you can store money on the blockchain via a wallet, is there a limit of how much money we can store? No, and there is no limit on how much you can send to anyone. This means that if you feel like storing your wealth into your bitcoin wallet, it would be as simple as buying bitcoin and if you want to be extra safe you can send it to your own personal wallet. From there you can access it anytime you want from any part of the world. So if you ever felt like traveling with large sums of your own money and are afraid of being robbed or questioned by authorities for why you’re so successful then the blockchain is your crypto safe.
Other than being able to access your money from anywhere at any time, you can also use the blockchain for other things. Developers have used blockchain technology to run all kinds of apps and services, for example video streaming services, virtual libraries, payment services and more. A quick search of the term “blockchain apps” will net you more examples among what I’ve listed above. Soon, if not already, the blockchain will be used in all technological, business, financial, and public sectors including our own homes.
Bitcoin has changed the way we send and store money with smaller fees, faster transaction times, no limits and you can already use it to pay for many services if the retailer accepts bitcoin. Even if they don’t, there are already debit cards that allow you to convert bitcoin into money that you can spend anywhere.
Bitcoin has a supply limit, unlike paper money which can be printed and loose value due to inflation there will only ever be twenty one million bitcoins in existence. This means that with a limited supply the value will increase over time. So one bitcoin a few years ago that may have been worth pennies is now worth a few thousand dollars as of the year 2017. The price of bitcoin is estimated to grow into the six digit figures or more within a few years, which is why it is like a modern day gold rush, and many people are buying it up as fast as they can get their hands on paper money.
The blockchain has given rise to many alternative crypto currencies known as alt coins, since they are alternatives to bitcoin. Alt coins can be exchanged for bitcoin and vice versa. Many alt coins are started with projects to show their value and usefulness in the real world. Some have advantages and disadvantages to Bitcoin making them handy in some situations. Although the competition is fierce, none can replace the king of coins, Bitcoin!
Day trading bitcoin, is it possible to do as with fiat in foreign exchange markets? Yes, there are crypto currency exchanges and some with leverage available. Trading bitcoin and alts has increased in popularity with financial giants now involved.
HOW TO SET UP A BLOCKCHAIN WALLET.
To get started, first is to create a blockchain account by following the steps below
*How to create a Bitcoin Wallet*
You must have an email address
Go to *blockchain.info*
Click *wallet*
Click *create new wallet*
Follow the procedures
You will be sent a mail
Then confirm
Then login with your details
After successful login, you will see *send* and *receive*
Click *receive*
You will see a long alphanumeric character, that you were told to copy
*copy* it ( like this 👉 18YaE6TkQsMGBj8QT8ZmM9sKfufFtCFPBt)
Go to your *Notepad* paste is there and save it so you can use it at anytime
That is your *wallet address* and U will be using it to *collect* and *receive* Bitcoin
Pls note your wallet address is like your bank account no on blockchain, it is different from your wallet ID.
Your wallet ID can be likened to your ATM pin which u use in gaining access to your account.
*That's All, you now have a _Bitcoin Wallet_*
