The rise of Blockchain and cryptocurrency has made many people question, what exactly is Bitcoin? Economists disagree on the usefulness of the technology, but most will agree that it is rising tide, which still hasn't finished growing. Its emergence in 2009 has swept the world off its feet, and we're here to give you a basic overview.
Bitcoin's main difference from traditional currencies (fiat money) is the technology which the currency runs on. This is known as Blockchain, which allows for Bitcoin to have a ledger governed by P2P networks as opposed to the conventional banking system of centralized checks. This eliminates the need for intermediaries and decentralizes the transaction verification process as it is now distributed across a P2P network.
For example, if you send money to a person named John, everyone will be able to see the number of Bitcoins that is being sent to him. For the transaction to be processed, it has to be accepted by others - on servers that called 'nodes' - before any changes is reflected in your account.
If you wish to find out more about Bitcoin, you can read the Whitepaper here. It is an exciting development in the world of finance and technological innovation and worth keeping an eye on.
