Bitcoin is the world’s first cryptocurrency and blockchain.
Bitcoin was first described in a white paper published by Satoshi Nakamoto in October, 2008. Nakamoto is believed to be a stage name for the individual or group blamed for Bitcoin as there is no book of a computer scientist by this name prior to the foundation of Bitcoin in 2009.
At the time, Satoshi claimed to be a 37 year-old man living in Tokyo, Japan. The translation of his name offers fascinating insights: satoshi means “clear-thinking” or “wise,” naka means “inside” or “relationship,” and moto means “the origin” or “the foundation.” Taken together, it could be translated as “thinking helpfully inside the foundation.”
Satoshi continued to update the Bitcoin source code until 2010 and wrote hundreds of blog posts in flawless English totalling 80,000 words, roughly all along a novel. Satoshis’ first broadcast used American spellings, however, every subsequent reveal used British spellings and colloquialisms. His writing timestamps don’t point to any particular epoch zone.
On the 23rd of April, 2011, Satoshi disappeared from the Internet, telling a developer in an email that he has « moved onto additional things. » Whoever Satoshi is, he is considered a polymath who possesses extensive knowledge with adulation to computer programming, economics, cryptography, and peer-to-peer networking.
Bitcoin was born during the 2008 Financial Crisis. To commemorate this moment in time, Satoshi embedded a Times of London newspaper headline into the metadata of the first block of the Bitcoin blockchain, known as the Genesis Block. It reads: “The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor upon brink of second bailout for banks.”
Token
Bitcoin (with a lowercase “b”) or BTC is the digital asset token of the Bitcoin network (Bitcoin past a capital “B”). All BTC balances and transactions are recorded upon the Bitcoin blockchain. The smallest subunit of BTC is the “satoshi,” which is named after Bitcoin’s pseudonymous creator, Satoshi Nakamoto. One satoshi is equal to 10-8 BTC or one hundred-millionth of a BTC (0.00000001 bitcoin). Bitcoin can be bought and sold for fiat currency or new digital currencies.
Bitcoin can be purchased on a cryptocurrency disagreement and stored in a crypto wallet and custodian following Gemini.
Supply
The supply of bitcoin is deterministic and unlimited at 21 million BTC. The supply schedule is embedded in the Bitcoin protocol.
Bitcoin Mining
Satoshi’s major breakthrough was solving the The Byzantine Generals’ Problem. The Bitcoin mining algorithm that Satoshi proposed in the Bitcoin white paper demonstrated how a network of computers regarding the world could reach consensus similar to each further and agree on something, even if clear computers were bad actors upon the network irritating to confuse the others.
This consensus mechanism allows the Bitcoin network to agree on which bitcoin transactions are valid, thereby solving the “double-spend” problem and ensuring that one bitcoin isn’t spent on height of once by the similar person. As a result, it safeguards the integrity of the Bitcoin blockchain, a baby book of everything bitcoin balances and transactions, without the compulsion for a trusted third party.
Bitcoin’s consensus mechanism uses a proof of work algorithm. Specifically, miners must solve math puzzles using the SHA-256 hash algorithm of the Secure Hash Algorithm 2 (SHA-2) family. By committing computational capability towards solving the Bitcoin mining algorithm, miners audit and support the transactions of the Bitcoin network. The more computer capability a miner brings to bear on the Bitcoin network, the more likely she or he is to solve the proof of exploit algorithm and win the bitcoin that the network rewards to the miner who writes the newest block to the Bitcoin blockchain.
Characteristics
Bitcoin is often called “digital gold” because its traits contiguously resemble those of gold. In 2015, a U.S. Federal regard as being concluded in the Coinflip, Inc. order that bitcoin was legally a “commodity” under the Commodities and Exchange Act.
The in imitation of table offers a comparison in the midst of bitcoin and gold:
Bitcoin Halving or Halvening
The supply schedule of bitcoin is deflationary. This schedule — embedded in the Bitcoin protocol — dictates that every time a miner successfully writes a supplementary block to the blockchain (i.e., solves the proof of perform puzzle), that miner shall get a set number of bitcoin called the « block reward. » The Bitcoin protocol sets and adjusts the mining complexity so that miners will be nimble to win the block recompense roughly every 10 minutes. The block reward is how whatever new bitcoin are issued or minted, and how everything bitcoin in circulation have come into existence.
Every 210,000 blocks — roughly every 4 years — the block reward is shortened by half, an concern often referred to as the « the halvening » or “the halving.” When Bitcoin launched in 2009, the initial block compensation was 50 bitcoin. On November 25, 2012, the first halvening occured, halving the block recompense from 50 to 25 bitcoin. On July 10, 2016, the second halvening occured, halving the block recompense from 25 to 12.5 bitcoin. The third halvening is usual to happen in May, 2020 and will reduce the block compensation from 12.5 to 6.25 bitcoin.
The block compensation will continue to undergo halvings until it reaches 0. This is estimated to happen sometime in the year 2140. At this tapering off in time, there will be a sum of 21 million bitcoin in circulation.
BITCOIN SUPPLY SCHEDULE
Total Supply
21 million by 2140 (approx.)
Block Reward
Every 10 minutes (approx.)
Halving event
Every 4 years (aprrox.) Every 210,000 blocks until sum supply reaches 21 million (fixed).
HODL, HODLing, and HODLers
HODL is a slang in the crypto proclaim that refers to the accomplishment of buying and holding bitcoin. The etymology of the term can be traced back to a misspelling of the word “hold” in a pronouncement posted to Bitcointalk’s Bitcoin Forum in 2013 and titled I AM HODLING. Some, however, have incorrectly assumed that the word is an acronym for the phrase “hold on for dear life.”
HODL has become a prominent internet meme and rallying cry for the Bitcoin community, especially during grow old of tall volatility and large price declines. Those who HODL are called HODLers and are said to be HODLing. The basic principle in back HODLing is to take a long term buy and maintain view towards bitcoin as not in favor of a short-term one that involves trading in and out of bitcoin on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis. HODLING avoids having to correctly get older trades considering the broadcast and react to price volatility, which can consequences in buying tall or selling low. It does, however, require strong conviction and resolve during present downturns.
HOLDING may also result in tax help related to capital asset treatment per IRS Virtual Currency Guidance (Please Note: nothing contained herein should be considered or construed as tax advice of any kind. This content is provided for instruction purposes only).
The HODL strategy appeals to Bitcoin maximalists who bow to that bitcoin may ultimately replace fiat currencies. It also an important component of “stacking sats,” #stackingsats, or “stacking satoshis,” a popular investment strategy based on the premise that accumulating even little amounts of bitcoin (a satoshi is the smallest subunit) over grow old will prove to be a essential investment in the long govern if bitcoin goes “to the moon!” — a popular manner metaphor and trope used by bitcoiners to describe bitcoin price appreciation.
The Bitcoin Pizza and Bitcoin Pizza Day
The bitcoin pizza refers to the first period bitcoin was used to buy a real good. On May 22, 2010, a programmer in Florida named Laslo Hanyecz (now referred to as the “Bitcoin Pizza Guy”) purchased two Papa John’s pizzas for 10,000 bitcoin; a day now referred to as Bitcoin Pizza Day. Initially, Laslo posted a message titled « Pizza for bitcoins? » on Bitcointalk’s Bitcoin Forum. An 18-year archaic named Jeremy Studivant responded below the handle “Jercos” and the two forward-looking consummated the transaction more than Internet Relay Chat (IRC). Afterwards, Hanyecz exclaimed: « I just desire to tab that I successfully traded 10,000 bitcoins for pizza. Thanks jercos! »
Lalso paid for the two pizzas using bitcoin that he mined bearing in mind his personal computer. At the time, the bitcoin that exchanged hands was valued at approximately $30 dollars. Since then, the value of that same amount of bitcoin has grown exponentially (worth over $90 million dollars as of May 22, 2020), making this the most costly pizza ever purchased in the world. Every year upon May 22, the Bitcoin community commemorates Bitcoin Pizza Day. This historical day highlights the deflationary plants of bitcoin and its gathering of value properties.
