What is Bitcoin (BTC, Bitcoin) in simple words: history, course and how to buy

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2019-08-03 00:00:00:

What is Bitcoin , which is also called BTC, Bitcoin or BTC, in simple terms? It is a new decentralized digital currency, while its formation and the whole range of actions are carried out directly on the Internet. It is noteworthy that the Bitcoin system is not under the control of anyone, and the emission of Bitcoin requires the work of millions of computers around the world, where a program is installed and launched, aimed at calculating mathematical algorithms. All of the above is the main purpose and essence of the bitcoin electronic coin.

What is Bitcoin (Bitcoin, BTC)

What is Bitcoin ? So, bitcoin is money in digital terms. From a physical point of view, they cannot be touched, put in a wallet or laid out in envelopes for storage. However, there are special registries created to keep records of the movement of bitcoins, namely, who transfers them and where, how many such coins have. Registries in the cryptocurrency world are called blockchains.

The principle of bitcoins is very similar to bank non-cash payments. So, when paying by card, for example, in a cafe or store, the transfer of physical money does not occur; instead, the bank register makes changes regarding the operation performed.

There are a number of differences between bitcoin and ordinary currency, and the main thing here is the decentralized storage of the registries of the former. So, storage is not carried out in payment systems and banks, but simultaneously on all PCs that work with bitcoins. This means that absolutely anyone has the opportunity to get all the information for the entire period of the existence of the cryptocurrency.

It is noteworthy that additional protection is provided for registries through cryptography. It is impossible to forge it simultaneously for all users. It is also unacceptable to rewrite information in blocks and disclose information that someone has now become the owner of millions. Bitcoin is an electronic currency that provides protection against such fraud. However, experts urge users to be careful, as cases of repeated reckoning with the same coins have already been identified. This suggests that bitcoin is still not a completely safe currency.

Speaking about the emergence of bitcoins, it should be noted right away that they are not tied to any state. For example, ordinary currency is issued within a certain state. On the one hand, this process is closely interconnected with gold reserves, but on the other hand, it is not framed by any framework, therefore, how much money the state needs, it will print so much. Bitcoins are money that does not in any way belong to any state in the world. The emergence of new coins occurs as a result of servicing this payment network within this very network. For example, somewhere in Italy, a man paid for dinner in a restaurant with bitcoins. The performed operation must be recorded in the general register on all PCs connected to the Bitcoin network. This will require a special signature resembling a wax seal. It is noteworthy that the signature must be calculated, which is not an easy math problem. So, somewhere in America there is a PC that is connected to the Bitcoin network and has just calculated the cryptographic signature made. For this, the owner of the PC received a "bonus" in the form of a penny bitcoin. The American put the computer in the mode of calculating cryptographic signatures and now the technique itself works, and the owners account is periodically replenished with bitcoin pennies. In other words, bitcoins are mined by encrypting and retyping other peoples operations. This process is called mining, which means "mining" bitcoins.

However, it is not bitcoins that are being mined, but the sealing wax necessary to protect the registries. As a result, the user is awarded a kind of reward for the service.

It should be said that mining is a separate large section. But in a nutshell, this process can be described as follows: "Expensive equipment, low efficiency, competition with mining megawatt clusters from China, built on the basis of power plants."

History of Bitcoin

Today, Bitcoin cryptocurrency is incredibly popular and in demand all over the world. Electronic coins cause a storm of opinions on their account of many experts and specialists. Some predict a great future for bitcoin, others say that it is impossible for some reason. However, most are inclined to believe that fiat money will give way to digital money relatively soon.

The history of bitcoin begins in the second half of 2008 - early 2009. It was then that the world started talking about bitcoin. The reason for this was the document that was spread throughout the world. It contained information about the first cryptocurrency. So, the client is released for functioning with the network and the genesis block is generated, for which the corresponding reward of 50 bitcoins was intended.

Of course, the history of the creation of bitcoin originates in the distant 80s of the last century, because it could not have formed from "nothing". So, in 1983, after a series of studies conducted by scientist David Chaum, a system for sending payments with the function of "blind signature" was created, which thus remained confidential. The first time after the emergence of cryptocurrency, it was able to generate interest from digital money enthusiasts. Later, miners joined, mining coins, but not of great value among many users. If users would only know what they lose when they throw away hard drives for trash or exchange thousands of VTS for one pizza, because today it is just crazy money.

Bitcoin became especially popular in 2011, when there was an equation of the exchange rate of the cryptocurrency and the dollar. At that time, the worlds first cryptocurrency exchange MtGox was formed, and Bitcoin became worthy of publication in the popular Time magazine. Of course, such attention and popularity did not pass by scammers and crackers who began to actively act against the system. This provoked public acceptance of digital coins in the context of the criminal world, as well as their frequent use in transactions carried out on shadow platforms.

Later, bitcoin gained great popularity among network users. At that time, numerous cryptocurrency platforms began to be created, through which trading in digital coins became permissible. After some time, namely in the spring of 2013, the bitcoin rate exceeded the psychological limit of $ 100. Then new altcoins began to open, among which the most popular and famous are the following:

Ripple (XRP) ;
Monero (XMR) ;
Ethereum (ETH);
Dash (DASH).

By the way, Monero has begun active efforts to oust bitcoin from the black market. Now there is a seizure of the ICO world, through which funds are collected for their own development, namely, through the release of new digital tokens. Now bitcoins have become available for payment for services and goods in various stores, restaurants, hotels, services.

In 2017, BTC was legally recognized by Japan as a legal tender. Of course, such changes and increased attention to cryptocurrency affected its value and, of course, capitalization, exceeding the $ 300 billion mark at the "X" moments.

This popularity has led to the appearance of some shortcomings in the functioning of the system. Thus, the execution of transactions began to take too long due to the increasing number of new users. The fees for transactions within the system were also raised. During this period, developers began to work actively, wanting to modernize Bitcoin, which led to the emergence of new platforms. Later, such branches began to be independent, "live" separately. The most popular platforms are Bitcoin Gold, Bitcoin Diamond, Bitcoin Cash, Super Bitcoin, Bitcoin God. The main difference between such platforms from the original was in the corresponding parameters, namely, the block size, the mining order. Due to the emergence of new platforms, the value of commissions in the systems decreased, and transactions began to be carried out many times faster.

Of course, the history of cryptocurrency cannot do without the name of its founder, but this is not the case here. So, the identity of the creator of bitcoin has not been established to date. Many specialists and experts presented the world with different versions, but none of the above has been officially confirmed.

10 years have passed since the founding of the digital coin, but the identity of its creator is still unknown. Among the possible candidates for the place of the pioneer were the following individuals - Nick Szabo, entrepreneur Craig Wright, cryptographer Hal Finney, the creator of Litecoin Charlie Lee, engineer Dorian Nakamoto, programmer David Kleiman, Elon Musk. And although certain facts and evidence were put forward that each of the mentioned persons was involved in the creation of an electronic coin, the "suspects" themselves categorically denied their participation.

Distinctive features of Bitcoin

It will take a lot of time to get acquainted with the Bitcoin system, because it is a whole empire with many terms, definitions, advantages, disadvantages, developments, schemes for earning and withdrawing coins. The technology for creating a decentralized currency has been in development by leading world-class programmers over the years. However, for a general acquaintance with bitcoins, you can study its distinctive features:

Direct transactions.

All transactions within the system occur directly between participants according to the P2P principle. There can be no third parties with the aim of introducing mediation. This method provides low fees and processing speed.

Decentralization.

The Bitcoin system does not provide for a main governing body, as well as a main server. The management and maintenance of the network is carried out by means of communication nodes, which are equal to each other and necessarily independent. Such nodes are found all over the world.

Absence of any limits.

Many payment systems provide different limits for transactions. This is necessary to prevent a possible system reboot. In addition, in the classical version of the organization of the payment system, the information is stored for a set time, and then it is automatically deleted so that space is freed up from time to time for new information. However, there is no such thing in the Bitcoin system. There are no different limits on the amount and number of bitcoin transfers, and information on the transactions performed is never deleted and is recorded indefinitely.

Globality.

The system is completely independent of the location of the participants in the transaction. Any transaction with funds will be carried out at the same speed, even if the distance between the sender and the recipient is 5000 km. All this happens because transactions within the Bitcoin system receive confirmation from the global system of communication nodes that are connected to it.

Pseudo-confidentiality.

System users do not need to enter personal information to register a wallet or send a transaction. Instead of this information, the system uses a personal hashed address, which includes a combination of 27-34 characters. However, the register of transactions performed is in the public domain, so every willing user of the system has the opportunity to path the coin from the very beginning to the end, namely the current holder.

Irreversibility.

A very important point, which means that absolutely all transactions within the system cannot be canceled, stopped or blocked.

Safety.

The Bitcoin system cannot be hacked and tampered with. The database is reliably protected, stores information about all committed transactions in the network, codes of each spent electronic coin. It uses cryptographic data recording, confidentiality and guaranteeing complete confidentiality. To access the bitcoins stored on the wallet, you must provide a special password. Such a private key is issued exclusively to the owner of the wallet and is stored in a special file.

How Bitcoin works

As already noted, bitcoin is the cryptocurrency of the transaction system of the same name. It is permissible for use by every interested user who has registered his own wallet in the system and acquired a certain amount of cryptocurrency.

When a user registers and opens a wallet in the Bitcoin system, he receives a private and public key. The password for accessing the wallet acts as a private key, that is, it is like a PIN code from a bank card, which should not be transferred to anyone. The public key is the address at which coins are stored, that is, it is like a bank card number. The public key can be transferred to other members of the system, for example, to carry out a payment transaction using details.

It is noteworthy that there is no need to go to a bank or other financial institution to carry out any transactions. In the system, all operations take place directly from the wallet, which is very convenient, fast and safe. When sending electronic coins, the user only needs to enter the payment amount and the wallet address to whom the funds are addressed. After the data is entered and the payment operation has passed, the information about the performed action is broadcast to the network. Here, independent users check its legality, after which, in case of a positive decision, it is included in the general data register. Only after all of the above actions is the transaction confirmed and reflected in the addressees wallet.

It is noteworthy that in the Bitcoin system, the procedure for "sending-receiving" transactions is noticeably simplified, if we take into account the transfer of funds in classical ways. Even completely inexperienced users can master it, one has only to study the basic instructions. Sending e-currency is easy, as it takes place directly from the sender to the recipient, without involving any intermediaries (for example, a central service). The only element that somewhat complicates the procedure for conducting transactions in the system is the cryptographic security of information. It is she who guarantees high reliability and decentralized operation of Bitcoin. However, this feature is not visible to every user, since it is activated exclusively at the time of checking transactions.

The Bitcoin system uses Blockchain technology, which stands for "block" and "chain". This combination of words speaks for itself and reflects the essence of the system. However, for dummies, it is worth decrypting the essence of the blockchain in more detail. So, this is a chain of blocks containing data regarding transactions. It is somewhat similar to a ledger and is stored by each user, and is updated from time to time. It is important that this chain is characterized by continuous action.

The size of one block of transactions in Bitcoin is 1 MB, while it can include up to several thousand transactions. Interestingly, each new block in the chain retains information about the completed transactions included in it, as well as all past blocks. To synchronize new and previous blocks, you need to use special hashed headers. A block can be included in the main network only if all transactions that are included in it are verified. The assignment of an individual title is subject to similar conditions. As soon as the verification is confirmed, the block receives the header and is included in the main network. From this moment on, all sorts of changes cannot be made to the block in any way.

Experts note that blockchain technology is the next step into an easier and more secure future. Thanks to this technology, it is possible to store absolutely any information. This technology is considered to be in demand in places where it is necessary to keep records and synchronize information. Even today, it is used in the implementation of private and public projects.

The essence of the Bitcoin system and blockchain technology lies in the source code, which is open source. This property makes the site useful for any user and change to the system. Additionally, using the source code of Bitcoin, a huge number of other cryptocurrencies and projects have been developed.

Special attention should be paid to the individual electronic signature, which is assigned to each user of the system when he registers his own wallet for cryptocurrency. The signature is in some way a password when entering the wallet, as well as a code word used to confirm any actions taking place in the wallet. An electronic signature acts as a hash function of the public address of an account in the Bitcoin system, which includes a combination of several characters.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Bitcoin (BTC)

The significant advantages of the cryptocurrency include the following points:

Brand recognition.

The degree of popularity and fame of the Bitcoin system is prohibitive today. Almost everyone has heard about such a cryptocurrency from various sources - news on TV, newspapers, magazines, the Internet, videos on YouTube. Pronouncing the word "bitcoin" there is no longer any need to further elaborate on its definition. Everyone knows that with the help of such a cryptocurrency and the system as a whole, you can make good money. If he talks about large investments and business, then most of the offices will prefer to cooperate with bitcoin, rather than with another unknown coin. Why? Owners of offices today can safely assume that bitcoin will either grow in value, or there will be a sense of selling it on the market in order to obtain their own benefit. If you risk in favor of little-known coins, then you will have to wait some time for the market to mature for their massive acquisition.

Highly developed infrastructure.

On many exchanges, bitcoins were traded long before the appearance of Ether, various tokens. Today, operations with cryptocurrency can be made almost everywhere, even for fiat money from various countries. Exchangers have also been opened in which many people are willing to exchange bitcoin for cash. Also, one cannot fail to note the services that make it possible to implement the acceptance of electronic coins on the websites of stores, companies that have access to accepting bitcoins. It is the buying and selling operations that are usually carried out using bitcoin, and later exchanging it for fiat money. The service also provides for the presence of wallets that serve users for more than one year, services that allow you to store bitcoins in the cloud.

Own story.

Trust is a fickle and extremely vulnerable concept. It can be very easily lost without any possibility of recovery. If we talk about the Bitcoin system, then it has been on the market for over 9 years. During this time, she managed to become absolutely recognizable from a completely unknown person. However, this path is full of bumps and holes. So, at first, only big enthusiasts knew about Bitcoin, later it became an object for laundering dirty money, and then it was transformed into the main driver of investing in cryptocurrencies.

Today, the Bitcoin system includes a huge amount of funds, so in fact it began to exist not only in virtual mode. Previously, bitcoin was a set of bytes in the blockchain, and later a section of the volume of dollars spent on its acquisition was added to it. For example, a user spent $ 10,000 to acquire the ability to purchase data bytes, so he probably wont want to sell them cheaper.

Due to the established relations between people in a contractual context and the exchange of fiat money, the cryptocurrency market can change. So, it is quite possible that the coin value will rise repeatedly by 1 thousand dollars in 1 trading day. Over the history of the existence of a digital currency, its value could fall extremely low in one day, and then suddenly rise, exceeding the previous mark several times.

Also, bitcoin is characterized by the presence of educational material in different languages of the world. Absolutely every user has the opportunity to study the article, watch the video, attend the conference in order to get more in-depth familiarization with the coin. Today there are a huge number of analytical sites with information on currency forecasts, news channels, and various thematic books.

There is a cyclical relationship here and they look like this: bitcoin occupies a large part of the market - bitcoin is sold and is "in the language" of many people. Accordingly, the more they talk about this cryptocurrency, the more it will expand the area of influence and cover the market. Of course, one cannot fail to note the growth in popularity of other coins, but it is bitcoin that is the driving force.

The main disadvantages of bitcoin include the following points:

High cost of commissions.

Of course, in Bitcoin, you can not pay a commission at all, but this solution will significantly slow down the process of the transaction. This means that the speed of the transaction depends proportionally on the size of the commission. The larger the amount the user is willing to give, the faster the operation will be carried out. It is noteworthy that the more space in bytes this or that account occupies, the more the miner plans to receive funds for adding it to the block. Why is this happening?

So, each block is characterized by a corresponding fixed size in bytes, so each miner wants to include as many transactions as possible in this block and receive a commission for each account. The standard block size in the blockchain is 1 MB. The settings of the miners software play an important role here, since they affect the type of transactions that fall into the block. Most often, accounts with a higher commission come in first and then with a lower one.

Account size is strongly influenced by exits and entrances. For example, the users address received funds from one sender, and he, in turn, transferred them all to another user. This situation implies one exit and one entrance. However, if the transfer of funds is partial, that is, 1/3 of the total amount "leaves", and the rest remains, then one input and two outputs are meant here. The first exit is 1/3 of the transfer, the second is the remainder or change sent to the address of its owner. If the user received 10 payments in the amount of 0.1 each, and they should be transferred to 100 addresses at 0.01, then there are 10 inputs and 100 outputs.

The number of inputs and outputs affects the weight of the transaction in bytes. In addition, older entries provide a more expensive service for a particular transaction.

So, the amount of the commission is not established, but given the high rate of the cryptocurrency, it is a rather large amount. It is unprofitable to transfer accounts with small amounts, since the commission here is especially high and completely disproportionate.

Slow transactions.

If we consider the blockchain of the original cryptocurrency, then it is possible to carry out several transactions per second (for example, from 3 to 7). However, today, for a number of reasons, such values are considered unacceptable and too slow. Why? Now the cost of one BTC is several thousand dollars, and the majority of users express a desire to buy or sell it, many sites have begun to actively introduce bitcoins into their payment methods. This indicates a huge growth in interest in cryptocurrency and, accordingly, an increase in the number of transactions carried out in the system. For example, the Visa system is capable of conducting about 2000 transactions per second. That is, when paying in a cafe for a cup of coffee with a bank card, a person gets the opportunity to immediately drink the purchased drink. However, in the case of bitcoins, this is hardly possible, because it will take about 10 minutes to several days for the transaction to complete. Today, there are already such cryptocurrencies that initially provide for a high speed of operations, but this does not apply to the Bitcoin system.

Large blockchain size.

If 3 years ago a bitcoin node occupied about 30 GB of hard disk space, then over time this size has increased greatly. Already today it is over 150 GB and does not stop growing. Therefore, if you want to install a wallet in the Bitcoin system, you must immediately allocate at least 20 GB on your hard drive. However, it cannot be said that this problem is very serious, but it presents some complexity. So, during the initial installation, you will need to download all 150 gigabytes from the network, check all information, synchronize. This process can take up to several days.

51% attack.

Not every user is familiar with the 51% attack, but it takes place on the bitcoin blockchain. What does she mean by herself? As soon as one of the users of the system becomes the owner of 51% of the network, he will be able to record any information in the blockchain. For example, the owner of such a number of shares can ascribe a certain amount of bitcoins to himself, conduct false transactions, then generate 6 blocks in a row and send the blockchain only to its chain. Experts note that they considered this type of attack as possible, but it would be more profitable for the owner of 51% of the network to mine BTC with this power than to wind up transactions. Otherwise, the system will lose the trust of people who, as a result, will no longer participate in blockchains and the cryptocurrency will quickly lose its value.

Premine.

If we consider the definition from a technical point of view, then it cannot be called correct, but it very accurately conveys the whole essence. In order for the cryptocurrency to come into common use, the code and technology were tested and run by programmers. Even the founder of the system himself mined 1 million bitcoins for himself at a time when it was possible through a home PC. Of course, Satoshi wasnt the only one. If you think about it, somewhere there is a user with a million BTC, the cost of one of which is 10 thousand dollars, while he got it completely free. What can happen if he "injects" them into the system? Its scary to even imagine.

Mining difficulty level.

As noted earlier, bitcoins could be mined on a regular home PC. However, over time, it became necessary to purchase a video card, today you need to buy ASICs, which work out their own cost for a long time. Many production facilities are located in China - here whole factory workshops and hangars are being built for mining. Of course, the average user does not have the ability to compete with such equipment, even if he uses pools. To carry out mining, today it is recommended to pay attention to other cryptocurrencies. The current situation may well change, as China began to actively press miners to leave the country. However, there is a high probability that they will be displaced in a new place.

Having dealt with the merits and demerits of bitcoin, it is necessary to consider such criteria that are difficult to attribute to both the first and the second. Its price and privacy.

Bitcoin price

This factor in the context of bitcoin can be both an advantage and a disadvantage. So, if the cost of a cryptocurrency is high, this causes a restriction on the entry into the market of people who have a small amount of funds, but it attracts organizations and people with large capital. It is interesting that it is too scary to buy electronic coins, but selling at a more expensive cost is quite pleasant.

The variability of the coins value gives users the opportunity to increase and lose their own investment with a particular decision. Here, user criteria such as experience, patience, calculation, calmness are important.

In addition, there is no exact information regarding the amount of money that has actually been invested to date. This means that even an approximate actual value of an electronic coin cannot be calculated in any way.

Confidentiality

Confidentiality is a rather controversial criterion that can do both harm and good at the same time. In order to remain anonymous, some rules are required:

creating separate addresses for each transaction;
ban on transfers between own addresses;
ban on pooling funds from different addresses in one payment;
a ban on the storage of military-technical cooperation in the clouds;
use of military-technical cooperation in local mode;
the exit of the local node to the network must be carried out through a proxy, which, in turn, must be changed with each operation;
sometimes additional use of bitcoin mixers is required, which often increases the risk.

The listed rules are presented in an incomplete volume, but even knowing them completely and thoroughly, it will not be difficult to admit their violation. In other words, confidentiality becomes not confidential at all when mistakes are made. Of course, scammers will not identify this or that user, but an organized purposeful structure is quite.

Does bitcoin mining exist?

In light of recent events, the issue of bitcoin mining remains open. It consists in solving computational problems using special devices that are located in different parts of the world. Their main goal is to receive virtual coins, i.e. bitcoins. This process is safe and the reason for this is the lack of centralization of mining, that is, a single control center.

Transactions that occur within the network are necessarily included in the log, after which, in order of priority, they are transferred to the miners. Miners, in turn, are obliged to provide a search among the many valid combinations of the same "hash". It is important that the found "hash" is suitable for each transaction from all recent transactions, as well as for an individual secret key. If the "hash" is found, the miner is entitled to a reward in the form of BTC, but it also takes a little work to get it, because thousands of users are fighting for it at the same time. When the hash is found, the block of transactions is closed, after which the queue goes to the next one.

What the hash block includes:

hash of the previous block;
the total hash of transactions that were carried out by users in the last 10 minutes;
a random number that changes to match the result with the conditions defined by the Bitcoin system.

It is noteworthy that the conditions change regularly, which determines the complexity of mining. So, changes are made every 2016 detected blocks (this is approximately every two weeks).

How to buy or sell Bitcoin?

In addition to mining, there are other ways to get bitcoins. There are several ways to buy bitcoins, the main ones are presented below:

Cryptocurrency exchanges. Cryptocurrency trading is carried out here, while the bitcoin rate may differ depending on a particular site. The most popular sites are EXMO, CEX.IO, Livecoin.
Trading platforms. For some sites, it is possible to sell various goods, accepting bitcoins as payment. The most demanded sites are Amazon, Ebay, Purse.io.
Exchangers. The network provides for the availability of services that exchange fiat for cryptocurrency. These include our resource.

We offer users a wide variety of ways to buy and sell Bitcoin.

Here are the popular destinations for the request "buy Bitcoin" on our exchanger:

Self-service terminals. Today there are specialized ATMs of the Bitcoin system. If serviced in them, then you can find a more profitable bitcoin rate, an improved technology. It is possible to receive electronic coins through conventional terminals.
Bitcoin faucets. Thanks to such services, electronic coins are distributed free of charge to visitors. Of course, you wont be able to accumulate a large fortune here, but to get a small amount of military-technical cooperation, you will need to complete simple tasks (for example, introducing captcha, writing texts, etc.).

So, there are several ways to buy cryptocurrency. Each user of the system chooses the most suitable option for himself.

Selling bitcoins can also be done in several ways. The most popular are presented below:

Online exchangers. With the help of such payment systems, the withdrawal of funds is as safe and fast as possible.

And this is a list of popular directions for the request "sell Bitcoin" in our service:

Cryptocurrency exchanges. It is important that the selected exchange works with fiat (e.g. Localbitcoins, Exmo, Livecoin). Alternatively, the user transfers bitcoins here, after which he exchanges them for fiat currencies and displays them on cards, an electronic wallet.
Localbitcoins exchange. This refers to the sale of MTC to another user. How can this be done? First, you should make an announcement about the sale of bitcoins, wait until it is paid. If urgency is important, then you can put a lower cost of the cryptocurrency. In this case, the Localbitcoins exchange acts as a guarantor, leaving the deal open until the moment when it is fully paid.

Each owner of a cryptocurrency has several options for selling it and exchanging it for fiat money. Which one should be chosen in this or that case is up to the user to decide directly.

Bitcoin to ruble rate

You can determine the Bitcoin exchange rate against the ruble using special calculators. Here you need to fill in special columns with the number of coins that you need to calculate and select a currency. The program will automatically make calculations and allow you to see the bitcoin exchange rate against the ruble on a particular date. For example, for today (July 31, 2019) the bitcoin rate to the ruble is 623,249.57 rubles.

Bitcoin to dollar rate

Since the exchange rate of world currencies is subject to daily adjustment, the bitcoin rate to the dollar will also undergo changes. Accordingly, if the value of the dollar rises, then the price for 1 bitcoin will increase proportionally. As of today, namely July 31, 2019, the bitcoin rate to the dollar is $ 9814.21.

Bitcoin to Euro rate

The bitcoin rate to the euro will be calculated in the same way as in relation to the dollar or ruble. So, for today (July 31, 2019) the bitcoin exchange rate against the euro is 8804.43 euros.

Where to store Bitcoin

To be able to store bitcoin, you must first create an electronic wallet in the system. There are three types of applications that can be used to create wallets:

Web client. This option is most suitable for dummies. This is where the program manages all operations. The client can be compared to an email, since it is completely dependent on the server from the outside.
Lightweight client. Here, the client is like an offline mailbox, which must connect to a mail server to download messages. This client is able to save bitcoins, but to gain access to the network and perform any operations, it needs a third-party server.
Full client. The program resembles an offline mail server, which is capable of handling all transactions without the need to connect to third-party servers. In this case, the user needs to fully control their own operations. This option is by no means suitable for a beginner in this business.

There are also browser, desktop and mobile wallets, and the wallet can be presented in a paper version. Of course, each type of wallet has its own advantages and disadvantages.

How many Bitcoins total

Answer the question: "How many bitcoins can be mined in total?" not difficult. According to the settings of the cryptocurrency mining program, there is an emission limit. It is limited to 21 million coins. When you consider the frequency of block formation, which repeats every 10 minutes, the amount of 21 million seems relatively small. But here it is also important to take into account the principle of inverse geometric progression, which is also embedded in the emission. According to this principle, every four years the number of coins that were received for the formation of new blocks is halved (halving).

Bitcoin emission

The emission of bitcoins is the process of forming new blocks in the blockchain chain, which includes transactions on the network. As noted, generation usually takes 10 minutes. This means that six blocks can be mined in one hour. Each element educated provides a corresponding award, which decreases every four years. Recall that at the time of the formation of the Bitcoin system, the reward was 50 coins per block, and in 2018 this value dropped to 12.5 bitcoins. Reduction of rewards and release of virtual money is carried out on the basis of a clear algorithm.

It is also known that the emission of bitcoins is limited and amounts to 21 million coins. This solution has many positive qualities, namely:

There is no central control at all.
Additional issue of virtual coins is not possible.
Reducing the cost of electronic coins is impossible.
Deflationary orientation. As bitcoin mining becomes more difficult and slower every year, the value of the coins increases significantly.
The cost of bitcoins is not subject to changes as a result of economic and political factors; it can only be influenced by the supply and demand for cryptocurrency from users.

The above criteria provide a high level of trust on the part of the system users to the cryptocurrency. As a result, a huge number of people are not afraid to invest in bitcoin, as it tends to constantly increase its value.

What is secured by Bitcoin

The provision of bitcoins depends on how popular and in demand it is among users. So, more people who use bitcoins provide more points for accepting payment and a higher rate.

The future of Bitcoin

Today, given the entire history of the past years of cryptocurrency, opinions regarding the future of bitcoin are significantly divided. We have not forgotten how in 2017 the system made it possible for many users to make good money, which was caused by its peak growth. Of course, people who did not have time to take advantage of such generosity were very upset. But it may be early to despair and it is worth giving yourself a second chance. After all, no one can know for sure what the future holds for cryptocurrency. Experts can only guess and predict. Today it is known that they were divided in their predictions. Some are convinced that cryptocurrency is the future of the worlds means of payment. At the same time, there are experts who believe that bitcoin has lost all chances of becoming a means of payment.

Factors indicating a positive development in the context of the Bitcoin cryptocurrency include:

The limitations of the electronic coin, thought out by its founder Satoshi Nakamoto, entails a natural increase in the value of bitcoin over time. So, in the context of the adoption by the state of the cryptocurrency at the official level and the absence of negative criteria for its development, the observation of an increase in the value of bitcoin may well be.
Bitcoin is the best alternative money option. The world has not come up with anything better today. Electronic money can be trusted due to the high level of security provided by cryptographic protection. This allows Bitcoin to be considered the most appropriate instrument for implementing payment policy.
Once bitcoin demonstrated its own capabilities, raising its own value to unimaginable heights. There is absolutely nothing stopping him from doing it again today.

Most experts are convinced that the cost of bitcoin will rise significantly in 2020 - 2024.

However, skeptical forecasts, which also take place today, should not be overlooked. So, disappointing forecasts are based on the following factors:

Bitcoin resembles an economic bubble in a way. Today, its price is too inflated, but there are no settings that determine the maximum possible cost per coin.
The principle and technology of bitcoin is still not fully open to many users. So, most people on a subconscious level consider cryptocurrency to be a continuation of the "financial pyramid" and automatically classify it as a risky activity.
Bitcoin is a tool that traders skillfully use. Of course, this greatly affects the rate of the electronic coin. Such leaps and use of the coin in this direction do not allow Bitcoin to be presented as a reliable means of payment.

Taking into account both sides of the experts, each user of the system and just a person must decide for himself whether to believe him in the future of cryptocurrency or not.