The Aztecs used cocoa beans as money!- BITCOIN

Cryptocurrency or BITCOIN

Before reading the article, understand the words:

Cryptography or cryptology is the practice and study of techniques for secure communication in the presence of third parties called adversaries.
Cryptocurrency is a digital asset designed to work as medium of exchange that uses strong cryptography to secure financial transactions, control the creations of additional units, and verify the transfer of assets. Cryptocurrencies use decentralized control as opposed to centralized digital currency and central banking systems.
Digital currency is a type of currency available in digital form. it exhibits properties similar in digital form. It exhibits properties similar to physical currencies, but can allow for instantaneous transactions and borderless transfer-of-ownership.
Peer-to-Peer(P2P) is a computing or networking is a distributed application architecture that partitions task or workloads between peers.
Nodes:in telecommunications networks, a node is either a redistribution or a communication endpoint.
Open Source Software OSS is a type of computer software in which source code is released under a license in which the copyright holder grants users the rights to study, change, and distribute the software to anyone and for any purpose.
Distributed ledger is a consensus of relocated, shared, and synchronized digital data geography spread across multiple sites, countries, or institutions. There is no central administrator or centralized data system.
Cryptocurrency wallet is a device, physical medium, program or service which stores the public and/or private keys and can be used to track ownership, receive or spend cryptocurrencies.
The blockchain is, originally block chain, is a growing list of records, called blocks, that are linked using cryptography.

Understanding Bitcoin

Bitcoin, often described as a cryptocurrency, a virtual currency or a digital currency – is a type of money that is completely virtual.
It’s like an online version of cash. You can use it to buy products and services, but not many shops accept Bitcoin yet and some countries have banned it altogether.

The Bitcoin is a decentralized currency that uses peer-to-peer technology, which enables all functions such as currency issuance, transaction processing and verification to be carried out collectively by the network. While this decentralization renders Bitcoin free from government manipulation or interference, the flipside is that there is no central authority to ensure that things run smoothly or to back the value of a Bitcoin. Bitcoins are created digitally through a “mining” process that requires powerful computers to solve complex algorithms and crunch numbers. They are currently created at the rate of 25 Bitcoins every 10 minutes and will be capped at 21 million, a level that is expected to be reached in 2140.

These characteristics make Bitcoin fundamentally different from a fiat currency, which is backed by the full faith and credit of its government. Fiat currency issuance is a highly centralized activity supervised by a nation’s central bank. While the bank regulates the amount of currency issued in accordance with its monetary policy objectives, there is theoretically no upper limit to the amount of such currency issuance. In addition, local currency deposits are generally insured against bank failures by a government body. Bitcoin, on the other hand, has no such support mechanisms. The value of a Bitcoin is wholly dependent on what investors are willing to pay for it at a point in time. As well, if a Bitcoin exchange folds up, clients with Bitcoin balances have no recourse to get them back.

How does Bitcoin work?

Each Bitcoin is basically a computer file which is stored in a ‘digital wallet’ app on a smartphone or computer.
People can send Bitcoins (or part of one) to your digital wallet, and you can send Bitcoins to other people.
Every single transaction is recorded in a public list called the blockchain.
This makes it possible to trace the history of Bitcoins to stop people from spending coins they do not own, making copies or undo-ing transactions.

How do people get Bitcoins?

There are three main ways people get Bitcoins.

You can buy Bitcoins using ‘real’ money.
You can sell things and let people pay you with Bitcoins.
Or they can be created using a computer.

How are new Bitcoins created?

In order for the Bitcoin system to work, people can make their computer process transactions for everybody.
The computers are made to work out incredibly difficult sums. Occasionally they are rewarded with a Bitcoin for the owner to keep.
People set up powerful computers just to try and get Bitcoins. This is called mining.
But the sums are becoming more and more difficult to stop too many Bitcoins being generated.
If you started mining now it could be years before you got a single Bitcoin.
You could end up spending more money on electricity for your computer than the Bitcoin would be worth.

Why are Bitcoins valuable?

There are lots of things other than money which we consider valuable like gold and diamonds. The Aztecs used cocoa beans as money!
Bitcoins are valuable because people are willing to exchange them for real goods and services, and even cash.

Why do people want Bitcoins?

Some people like the fact that Bitcoin is not controlled by the government or banks.
People can also spend their Bitcoins fairly anonymously. Although all transactions are recorded, nobody would know which ‘account number’ was yours unless you told them.

Legal and Regulatory Issues

Bitcoin exists in a deregulated marketplace; there is no centralized issuing authority and no way to track back to the company or individual who created the bitcoin. There is no personal information required to open a bitcoin account or to make a payment from an account as there is with a bank account. There is no oversight designed to ensure the information on the ledger is true and correct.

The Mt. Gox bankruptcy in July 2014 brought to the forefront the risk inherent in the system. Roughly $500 million worth of bitcoin listed on the company’s ledgers did not exist. In addition to the money that account holders lost, the blow to confidence in the currency drove its global valuation down by $3 billion in a matter of weeks. The system had been established to eliminate the risk of involving third parties in transactions, but the bankruptcy highlighted the risks that exist in peer-to-peer transactions.

Bitcoin payments in the U.S. are subject to the same anti-money laundering regulations that apply to transactions in traditional currencies, and to payments by banks and other financial institutions. However, the anonymity of these transactions makes it far easier to flout the rules. There are concerns, voiced by former Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, that terrorists may use bitcoin because of its anonymity. Drug traffickers are known to use it, with the best-known example being the Silk Road market. This was a section of the so-called dark Web where users could buy illicit drugs; all transactions on the Silk Road were done via bitcoin. It was eventually shut down by the FBI in October 2013, and its founder, Ross William Ulbricht, is serving multiple life sentences. However, numerous other dark Web bitcoin-based markets have reportedly taken its place.

LEGAL STATUS OF CRYPTOCURRENCIES

Today most authorities around the world are trying to find the way to regulate blockchain and cryptocurrency markets. As challenges that officials face with the development of the industry continue to grow, different approaches are being used in order to follow up the progress.

International Acceptance

Bitcoin can be transferred from one country to another without limitation. However, the exchange rate against other currencies can be very volatile. This is partly because the price is often driven by speculation, but also because it is a fairly small market compared with other currencies.

Some countries are developing legal framework purposed to establish a better control over crypto currency markets, while other countries are trying to forbid crypto currency exchange and any other relevant operations within the blockchain tech industry.
Each jurisdiction gives its own definition of the cryptocurrency industry as this is not a standardized and well-regulated market yet.

– Countries of the South American region are not supporting the crypto currency industry and they have rather unfavorable climate for blockchain projects;
– USA, Canada and Japan – all three countries have favorable legislation;
– Sweden considers crypto currency as a traditional fiat currency;
– Legislation of China allows only private individuals to hold and use bitcoins;

Countries Where Bitcoin Is Banned or Legal 2019

Alternatives to Bitcoin

Despite its recent issues, Bitcoin’s success and growing visibility since its launch has resulted in a number of companies unveiling alternative cryptocurrencies, such as:

Litecoin – Litecoin is regarded as Bitcoin’s leading rival at present, and it is designed for processing smaller transactions faster. It was founded in October 2011 as “a coin that is silver to Bitcoin’s gold,” according to founder Charles Lee. Unlike the heavy computer horsepower required for Bitcoin mining, Litecoins can be mined by a normal desktop computer. Litecoin’s maximum limit is 84 million – four times Bitcoin’s 21-million limit – and it has a transaction processing time of about 2.5 minutes, about one-fourth that of Bitcoin.
Ripple – Ripple was launched by OpenCoin, a company founded by technology entrepreneur Chris Larsen in 2012. Like Bitcoin, Ripple is both a currency and a payment system. The currency component is XRP, which has a mathematical foundation like Bitcoin. The payment mechanism enables the transfer of funds in any currency to another user on the Ripple network within seconds, in contrast to Bitcoin transactions, which can take as long as 10 minutes to confirm.
MintChip – Unlike most cryptocurrencies, MintChip is actually the creation of a government institution, specifically the Royal Canadian Mint. MintChip is a smartcard that holds electronic value and can transfer it securely from one chip to another. Like Bitcoin, MintChip does not need personal identification; unlike Bitcoin, it is backed by a physical currency, the Canadian dollar.

The Future of Cryptocurrency

Some economic analysts predict a big change in crypto is forthcoming as institutional money enters the market. Moreover, there is the possibility that crypto will be floated on the Nasdaq, which would further add credibility to blockchain and its uses as an alternative to conventional currencies. Some predict that all that crypto needs is a verified exchange traded fund (ETF). An ETF would definitely make it easier for people to invest in Bitcoin, but there still needs to be the demand to want to invest in crypto, which some say may not automatically be generated with a fund.

The emergence of Bitcoin has sparked a debate about its future and that of other cryptocurrencies. Despite Bitcoin’s recent issues, its success since its 2009 launch has inspired the creation of alternative cryptocurrencies such as Litecoin, Ripple and MintChip. A cryptocurrency that aspires to become part of the mainstream financial system would have to satisfy very divergent criteria. While that possibility looks remote, there is little doubt that Bitcoin’s success or failure in dealing with the challenges it faces may determine the fortunes of other cryptocurrencies in the years ahead.