What is Bitcoin?
Bitcoin 101
Bitcoin’s network is a payment system, plain and simple. Think about payments you currently use, credit cards, PayPal, bank transfers, etc…that is why Bitcoin is disruptive. Bitcoin is a payment system where the currency used is called Bitcoins (BTC) rather than dollars.
The traditional payments systems that you currently use, credit cards, PayPal, bank transfers are all controlled by centralized entities who control the network in which they run.
- Credit card transactions are controlled by the Visa/Mastercard. They have the power to control your spending, place restrictions on where you can use their cards, how much you can spend, and they can deny you access at any time.
- PayPal can suspend your account at any given time. PayPal can hold your funds and force you to do a credit check and/or to provide proof of purchases for things you sell online. PayPal can also control how much you spend from your account.
- Banks have infinite power over your funds. They question where your money is coming from and where it is going. They can stop where you can send money and how much you can withdraw. There are so many restrictions on your own money.
Bitcoin’s payment system is decentralized and is run by the community. The whole system is maintained, verified, secured by individuals such as yourself. The Bitcoin network has never been hacked and is considered the safest network in the world, and most importantly, with Bitcoin’s decentralized network you control your own money.
WHO IS SATOSHI NAKAMOTO?
Satoshi Nakamoto is a pseudonym. We do not know who he/she/they are. Many speculate that they are from Japan due to the choice of name, but nobody truly knows. Satoshi released the white paper in 2008 and disappeared in 2010.
The community took over the project since then. Bitcoin’s code is considered open-source. This means it is license-free for anyone to use. Anyone can take the code and try to create their own version of Bitcoin and the Bitcoin network.
Many have done so, and these cryptocurrencies are called Altcoins.
However, there is no fear that a hacker can change Bitcoin’s network. Any changes must be adopted by all the miners, the ones powering the network. Without their adoption, any new code will not be accepted. In 2021, the identity of Bitcoin’s inventor is irrelevant and will probably stay hidden forever.