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Bitcoin was created in 2009 by Satoshi Nakamoto, a pseudonymous developer. Bitcoin is designed to be completely decentralized and not controlled by any single authority. With a total supply of 21 million, its scarcity and decentralized nature make it almost impossible to inflate or manipulate. For this reason, many consider bitcoin to be the ultimate store of value or ‘Digital Gold’. Bitcoin is fully open-source and operates on a proof-of-work blockchain, a shared public ledger and history of transactions organized into "blocks" that are "chained" together to prevent tampering. This technology creates a permanent record of each transaction. Users on the Bitcoin network verify transactions through a process known as mining, which is designed to confirm new transactions are consistent with older transactions that have been confirmed in the past, ensuring users can not spend a Bitcoin they don’t have or attempt to double-spend coins.
New coins are created as part of the Bitcoin mining process. Bitcoins are rewarded to miners who operate computer systems that help to secure the network and validate incoming transactions. These Bitcoin miners run full nodes and use specialized hardware otherwise known as Application Specific Integrated Circuit Chips (ASICs) to find and generate new blocks. Once a series of computationally demanding problems have been solved a completed "block" is added to the ever-growing "chain", this mining process can fluctuate and become easier or harder depending on network demand and value, this is known as the network difficulty. Besides block rewards, miners also collect transaction fees which further incentivizes them to secure the network and verify transactions. This independent network of miners also decreases the chance for fraud or false information to be recorded, as the majority of miners need to confirm the authenticity of each block of data before it's added to the blockchain, in a process known as "proof of work."
Bitcoin was launched in 2009 after the publication of Satoshi Nakamoto's whitepaper. The first block (Genesis Block) was mined on January 3, 2009, and the first transaction was sent by Satoshi to Hal Finney.
Bitcoin runs on a blockchain, a chain of blocks with transactions. Miners solve complex mathematical problems to verify transactions and are rewarded. Decentralization ensures security.
Multisig is a way to secure a Bitcoin wallet by requiring multiple signatures from different parties to complete a transaction. This increases the security of funds, especially in business and team projects.
Bitcoin dominance is the share of its market capitalization relative to the entire cryptocurrency industry. This metric reflects how important Bitcoin is compared to other cryptocurrencies.
Bitcoin is the first and most well-known cryptocurrency with a limited supply (21 million BTC). In contrast, many altcoins focus on speed, scalability, or additional features such as smart contracts, increased anonymity, or built-in staking mechanisms.
Bitcoin ETF is an investment fund whose shares are traded on traditional exchanges and reflect the price of Bitcoin. It allows investors to invest in Bitcoin without having to buy and hold the coins directly.
Halving is a process whereby every 210,000 blocks the reward to miners for creating a new block is halved. It is a built-in mechanism for slowing down Bitcoin's emission, maintaining its scarcity.
Bitcoin can be stored in crypto wallets: these can be mobile, desktop, web wallets, hardware devices or paper versions. The main thing is to have access to the private key.
The Bitcoin network is a decentralized system of computers (nodes) that exchange data about transactions and blocks. Each node stores a copy of the blockchain and participates in verifying transactions.
A hardware wallet is a physical device that stores Bitcoin private keys offline. It provides a high level of protection against hacking and viruses.
A hot wallet is connected to the Internet and is convenient for frequent use, but is more vulnerable. A cold wallet is stored offline (for example, on a flash drive or device), and is intended for long-term storage with maximum security.
