Bitcoin is a decentralized digital currency that you can buy, sell and exchange directly, without an intermediary like a bank. Bitcoinโs creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, originally described the need for โan electronic payment system based on cryptographic proof instead of trust.โ Each and every Bitcoin transaction thatโs ever been made exists on a public ledger accessible to everyone, making transactions hard to reverse and difficult to fake. Thatโs by design: Core to their decentralized nature, Bitcoins arenโt backed by the government or any issuing institution, and thereโs nothing to guarantee their value besides the proof baked in the heart of the system. โThe reason why itโs worth money is simply because we, as people, decided it has valueโsame as gold,โ says Anton Mozgovoy, co-founder & CEO of digital financial service company Holyheld.
How Does Bitcoin Work?
Bitcoin is built on a distributed digital record called a blockchain. As the name implies, blockchain is a linked body of data, made up of units called blocks that contain information about each and every transaction, including date and time, total value, buyer and seller, and a unique identifying code for each exchange. Entries are strung together in chronological order, creating a digital chain of blocks. โOnce a block is added to the blockchain, it becomes accessible to anyone who wishes to view it, acting as a public ledger of cryptocurrency transactions,โ says Stacey Harris, consultant for Pelicoin, a network of cryptocurrency ATMs. Blockchain is decentralized, which means itโs not controlled by any one organization. โItโs like a Google Doc that anyone can work on,โ says Buchi Okoro, CEO and co-founder of African cryptocurrency exchange Quidax. โNobody owns it, but anyone who has a link can contribute to it. And as different people update it, your copy also gets updated.โ
