#CryptoTariffDrop

CryptoTariffDrop About Bitcoin (BTC)

Bitcoin (BTC) is the first cryptocurrency built on blockchain technology, also known as a decentralized digital currency that is based on cryptography. Unlike government-issued or fiat currencies such as US Dollars or Euro which are controlled by central banks, Bitcoin can operate without the need of a central authority like a central bank or a company. The decentralized nature allows it to operate on a peer-to-peer network whereby users are able to send funds to each other without going through intermediaries.

Who created Bitcoin?

The creator is an unknown individual or group that goes by the name Satoshi Nakamoto with the idea of an electronic peer-to-peer cash system as it is written in a whitepaper. Until today, the true identity of Satoshi Nakamoto has not been verified though there has been speculation and rumor as to who Satoshi might be. What we do know is that officially, the first genesis block of BTC was mined on 9th January 2009, defining the start of cryptocurrencies.

How does Bitcoin work?

While the general public perceives Bitcoin as a physical looking coin, it is actually far from that. Under the hood, it is a distributed accounting ledger that is stored as a chain of blocks - hence the name blockchain.

Let's compare how Bitcoin is different from a commercial bank, which operates as a centralized system. Given a situation where Alice wants to transact with Bob, the bank is the only entity that holds the ledger that describes how much balance Alice and Bob has. As the bank maintains the ledger, they will do the verification as to whether Alice has enough funds to send to Bob. Finally when the transaction successfully takes place, the Bank will deduct Alice’s account and credit Bob’s account with the latest amount.