What is a Bitcoin?
Bitcoin is what is called "crypto-currency".
It's the Internet money version – a single piece of digital property that can be transferred from one person to another.
Bitcoins are generated using an open source computer program to solve complex mathematical problems. This process is known as mining.
Each Bitcoin has its own unique fingerprint and is defined by a public address and private key – or strings of numbers and letters that give each one a specific identity.
They are also characterized by their position in a public database of all Bitcoin transactions known as blockchains.
The blockchain is managed by a distributed network of computers all over the world.
Since Bitcoins allow people to exchange money without involving third parties, they have become popular among libertarians, technophiles, speculators and criminals.
Where do the Bitcoins come from?
People create Bitcoins through mining.
Mining is the process to solve complex math problems using computers that run Bitcoin software.
These mining puzzles become increasingly difficult as more Bitcoins come into circulation.
Prizes are halved at regular intervals due to a deliberate slowdown in the speed with which the new Bitcoins come into circulation.
Who is behind the currency?
Bitcoin was launched in 2009 by a person or group of people working under the name of Satoshi Nakamoto and then adopted by a small group of enthusiasts.
Nakamoto left the map while Bitcoin began to attract attention, but supporters say it does not matter: the currency obeys its internal logic.
Dr. Craig Wright was suspected as the creator after a Wired report last year and has now confirmed his identity as the founder of the cryptocurrency.
What is a bitcoin worth?
Like any other currency, Bitcoins are worth as much as you and your counterpart want them to be.
Bitcoins are lines of computer code that are digitally signed each time they travel from one owner to another. Physical currency used as an illustration
In its early days, the repeaters exchanged Bitcoins back and forth for minor favors or simply as a game.
A website also gave them for free.
With the maturing of the market, the value of each Bitcoin has grown.
Is the currency widely used?
It is controversial.
The activities that go from the blogging platform WordPress to the Overstock dealer have climbed onto the Bitcoin wagon amid a burst of media coverage, but it is not clear whether the currency really took off.
On the one hand, the main payment provider Bitcoin BitPay works with over 20,000 companies – about five times more than last year.
On the other hand, the total number of Bitcoin transactions remained approximately constant between 60,000 and 70,000 a day over the same period, according to the Bitcoin portfolio site blockchain.info.
Is Bitcoin particularly vulnerable to counterfeiting?
The Bitcoin network works by exploiting the greed of individuals for the collective good.
A network of expert technology users called miners keeps the system honest by pouring its computing power into a blockchain, a global count of all bitcoin transactions.
The blockchain prevents thieves from spending the same bitcoin twice, and the miners are rewarded for their efforts by being equipped with the occasional bitcoin.
As long as the miners keep the blockchain safe, counterfeiting should not be a problem.
