If you are starting the journey to know about Bitcoin, here's every fact you need to know and every question you needed answered.
Bitcoin (₿), as we all know it, is a form of digital currency, without a central bank, i.e. it is not regulated by any country, being the official currency of the internet. It can be sent from user to user on the peer-to-peer bitcoin network directly without any intermediaries. Bitcoin transactions get verified by network nodes through cryptography and then are recorded in a public distributed ledger called a Blockchain.
To know more about Bitcoin, here are some facts you must know:
Invented in 2008 by an unknown person or group of people using the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto and surprisingly Satoshi has 1,125,150 Bitcoins, the cryptocurrency began to use in 2009 when its implementation was released as open-source software.
It makes the transfer of money much cheaper and easier unlike fiat money (INR, US Dollar, Euro & other paper currencies) as it avoids any unnecessary fees like service fees and exchange rates.
It is independent of any corporate monopoly because everything about Bitcoin is governed by the vast population of users like us using it.
The coins’ value in the real world, is extremely volatile.
These coins are created as rewards for a process called Mining.
Despite their recent fluctuation, A bitcoin is still worth thousands of dollars and Lakhs of Rupees. According to The Economist in January 2015: they are "hard to earn, limited in supply and easy to verify.” Bitcoin is not paper money, such as Rupees, Dollars, Euros, or Yen owned by central or currency banks.
It is the first Cryptocurrency created by individuals and companies worldwide using sophisticated computer software that solves mathematical problems. These coins can be exchanged for other currencies, products, and services.
The way we store money in the bank, bitcoins are stored in “Bitcoin wallets”. Everything is done electronically & no fiat money (like the US Dollar, INR, YEN, or any other paper currency) is involved.
You can witness the volatility and dynamic nature of the currency in its value change from September of last year to April 2021, rising to around 47 lakhs to today’s value of 32 lakhs per coin. The huge fall has been largely due to the Chinese banks banning the use of cryptocurrency as the country asked its banks to do so.
"Speculative trading in virtual currencies roils economic and financial order, spawns the risks of criminal activities such as illegal asset transfers and money laundering, and endangers people's wealth," the Public Bank of China said in a statement.
Bitcoins' most unique feature is one can easily set up a bitcoin account literally in minutes without any hassles about confusing transactions. And its privacy and anonymity deliver the owner complete control over who gets to know.
Transactions pertaining to bitcoin are non-reversible ensuring no fraud. Although, through the years, it has been slammed for its use in illegal transactions, a large amount of electricity (and thus carbon footprint) used by mining, price volatility, and thefts from exchanges. It remains to become one of the most popular and in-demand options to invest in.
In India, the government is planning to classify bitcoin as an asset class. The Indian government has softened its attitude on cryptocurrencies and will most likely designate Bitcoin as an asset class in the country soon.
In March of this year, the finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in an interview, that the ministry is planning to draft new laws regarding Cryptocurrency. And its use as a recognized asset in India and hoping to proceed with a Cryptocurrency Regulation Bill, with SEBI regulation.
However, there are many reports suggesting some financial instability in the country with the rise of cryptocurrency, but the ministry thinks that it is the inevitable future of tomorrow to bring in the change that the world has acknowledged so devotedly.
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