The S&P 500 slumped 1.8% on Monday and Tuesday, thanks to China Evergrande, the Chinese property company that looks like it is ready to default on its more-than $300 billion in debt. Cries of the next Lehman BrothersтАФor maybe the next Silverado?тАФechoed through the canyons of Wall Street as investors prepared for the worst.
What Is Bitcoin?
Bitcoin is a decentralized digital currency that you can buy, sell and exchange directly, without an intermediary like a bank. BitcoinтАЩs creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, originally described the need for тАЬan electronic payment system based on cryptographic proof instead of trust.тАЭ Each and every Bitcoin transaction thatтАЩs ever been made exists on a public ledger accessible to everyone, making transactions hard to reverse and difficult to fake. ThatтАЩs by design: Core to their decentralized nature, Bitcoins arenтАЩt backed by the government or any issuing institution, and thereтАЩs nothing to guarantee their value besides the proof baked in the heart of the system. тАЬThe reason why itтАЩs worth money is simply because we, as people, decided it has valueтАФsame as gold,тАЭ says Anton Mozgovoy, co-founder & CEO of digital financial service company Holyheld.
