BitCoin For Beginners
Perhaps you are unfamiliar with Bitcoin, I know that many people out there have certainly heard of the name, but really do not know what exactly Bitcoin is, how it comes to be, and basically anything tangible about it. No shame in this, unless you involve yourself with Cryptocurrencies and “Blockchain” there is no reason you should know about it!
The big problems with all of the blogs and web projects we see plastered on the web is that most of them assume you have a basic idea; I am assuming you know diddly squat!
O.K, so what is this all about?
In about 2009 this person by the name of Satoshi Nakamoto, a full on computer geek and web nerd came up with a novel idea: Money is based on the idea of security, right? We know that dollars and cents don’t have any real value, the Gold standard was abolished decades ago, it is simply that we all agree that dollars and cents have value, and big banks provide the security. Well, what if computers could generate security?
Now, this Japanese sounding name, Satoshi Nakamoto is like something you would see in an Anime cartoon, right? We don’t even know who this person is, if this is his real name: his anonymity remains to this day. Satoshi came up with a new type of Database.
This is what Bitcoin actually is, a database.
How this database works is what makes it so beautiful, and usable as a currency.
Instead of a central bank calling the shots, and dispensing the cash, a network of computers holds this database.
The database is made up from ‘Blocks’- a specified number of solved hash math problems, each block can only have a critical number of solved lines of hash problems = 100,000,000, each line is called a ‘Satoshi’, after the inventor of the database.
So each Bitcoin is really 100,000,000 lines of solved hash problems, like an Excel spreadsheet.
We can store these blocks on multiple computers, and each computer has to verify the problems, when all of the computers acknowledge a block as being completed it is accepted onto the Blockchain database, forever.
So Bitcoin is the very first and most simple Crypto coin. There is no such thing as a physical coin at all, so these things:
Do not exist, we see them all over the web, they are purely symbolic of course.
I am glad we cleared this up, you might think this is obvious, but there are people out there who don’t know, and that is what this post is addressing.
So, we have this distributed database being shared among all of the computers that are members of the Blockchain network for Bitcoin; you too can participate with this network by downloading the entire Blockchain; it is this distribution that is critical, this provides both security & surety.
Can you visualise what Bitcoin is from this? Have you gained a clearer idea of just what this currency actually is?
I understand that you might not fully grasp just what Bitcoin is, but I am certain if you have followed this so far you get that networks and databases are involved, right?
How does one actually get Bitcoin?
There are two major ways:
1. Mining. To mine Bitcoin you need powerful processing capabilities, back when it all kicked off you could use desktop computers, and graphics cards to solve the Hash problems; but as time elapsed the Hash problems became ever more difficult, and ordinary computers were unable to come up solutions in good time. Today entire ‘Farms’ of powerful devices are harnessed together in huge racks, all consuming lots of electricity, which is expensive!
Why do Bitcoin miners use GPU devices, the graphics processors on graphics cards? Because these processors can deal with Hash problems more efficiently, they have greater processing ‘grunt’ than CPU’s and this game is all about raw processing power; this is why rigs such as these are coveted by Bitcoin miners:
2. Purchasing Bitcoin from an exchange. If you are not interested, or motivated to involve yourself with Bitcoin mining you have this option of acquiring Bitcoin holdings directly; exchanging your conventional currency for the corresponding quantities of either Bitcoin, or Satoshis.
Because one Bitcoin is made up from one hundred million lines of solved hash problems, we can purchase one hundred millionth of a Bitcoin if we so desire; most people aspire to own much more than one Satoshi, but this is possible.
This means that each individual can participate, and begin storing their Satoshis if they want to.
Exchanges have appeared to service the demand for direct transactions, and buying/selling Bitcoin.
It is critical that you choose a legitimate exchange, one that has been licensed and has arranged relationships with the banks, so ‘due diligence’ is also critical!
One of the most honest, and original Bitcoin exchanges is Swan
Understanding Bitcoin is not difficult, but there is a lot of invalid and hyperbolic misinformation out there; I always advise keeping things very simple and straightforward to begin with, the simple acquisition of some Bitcoin is the 1st objective, because the mere fact of the value of Bitcoin as compared with ‘Fiat currencies’ is the simple path to adding value to your investment.
I told you this is written for the beginner, and I am sticking with this, if you have an interest with Bitcoin you should take some action, don’t allow your fear or sense of being ‘technically challenged’ hold you back: this is a genuine opportunity and I am here to affirm this for you.
I do not care if you click on my affiliate links, or add to my benefit one iota, I simply wish to share the insight that ordinary people can advance their own wealth through Bitcoin, but you must start taking action very soon to fully assure your train ticket.
I am not going to berate you, or tell you that you will ‘miss out’ unless you do as I am saying, we are adults, and I understand that you might be anxious about being involved with ‘Crypto’, perhaps this is the first time you have taken notice of a financial project; I get it.
All that I would wish to leave you with is a sense that you now understand what Bitcoin actually is, and also how you can benefit from saving some of your own Satoshis.
Swan exchange is one of the most scrupulous exchanges, it only deals with Bitcoin, and they give you $10.00 worth of Bitcoin as an incentive to begin saving your Bitcoin portfolio; the great Max Keiser warmly supports Swan, you can sign up regardless of where you live, international customers are welcomed.
My own personal experience underpins this little article, I began looking in earnest in April of 2020 so I am not a ‘plutocrat’, I am just like you. I can confirm that Bitcoin is a genuine opportunity and even with a modest investment you can improve your financial situation, people talk about ‘millionaires’ but there is a whole range of ‘better’ before we reach that stage, I can promise you that you will not regret saving some Satoshis, and the sooner you begin the better the outcome will be.
This video explain the mechanics very well: