In this article, you will get a smart brief on What is bitcoin? Who is the creator? Why Bitcoin is an important asset? How it affects anyone? How to Buy Bitcoin from anywhere? Is it safe to invest in Bitcoin?
The last year was of cryptocurrency. It was the most talked about thing on the entire earth. The most popular cryptocurrency to emerge out of all the hullabaloo was Bitcoin. From a price of $1,000 in January 2017 to a price of $ 18,000 and then back now to $7,500 on June 1, 2019. Bitcoin’s journey has been a steady but a tumultuous rise. We are going to see a fresh review of Bitcoin as of June 2019.
For the uninitiated, here’s a refresher.
What is Bitcoin?
Bitcoin is a worldwide payment platform and the first decentralized cryptocurrency to emerge. It’s decentralized because there is no central authority. Unlike traditional payment networks, Bitcoin bypasses the need for a centralized body of control, such as a government or a central bank. The transactions are recorded on a blockchain based ledger by miners. The Public shared ledger is verified by thousands of computers (called nodes) maintaining the network across the globe. Hence, any transaction cannot be faked.
Once you own bitcoins, they possess value and trade just as if they were nuggets of gold in your pocket. You can use your bitcoins to purchase goods and services online, or you can tuck them away and hope that their value increases over the years. Bitcoins are traded from one personal ‘wallet’ to another.
Who created it?
A pseudonymous software developer going by the name of Satoshi Nakamoto proposed bitcoin in 2008, as an electronic payment system based on mathematical proof. The idea was to produce a means of exchange, independent of any central authority, that could be transferred electronically in a secure, verifiable and immutable way.
The interesting thing is, to this day, no-one knows who Satoshi Nakamoto really is.
Why is it important?
Bitcoin has seen a steady growth since last year. However, it reached a peak at around $ 18,000 in mid-December of 2017. Since the,n the prices have fallen considerably. The worst low after the peak came when the prices fell to around $3,300. It has gained some traction since then and is hovering around $7,000.
You might ask, why is bitcoin important now? Well, according to coinmarketcap the market capitalization of Bitcoin is around $267 Billion. It is more than double of Ethereum(ETH) which has second largest market capitalization. Hence, any coin portfolio needs to contain this. If Bitcoin prices fall, the whole cryptocurrency market will feel its effect.
How it affects you?
If you are a trader, you absolutely need to have some bitcoins. It is important to have this magical coin because it has survived 10 years in the crypto world. Now, 10 years is a really long time. Bitcoin community is really strong and there are many tools and websites available that operate for bitcoin. Also, Bitcoin is the most known cryptocurrency in the world.
How to buy?
Bitcoin can be bought almost anywhere. There are many websites that offer purchase of bitcoins. These websites are called Cryptocurrency Exchanges. Some of the most secure cryptocurrency exchanges that you can use to purchase cryptocurrencies are
Coinbase using USD
Changelly using USD
Coinmetro using EUR
Koinex using INR
WazirX using INR
Binance (for exchange)
Is it safe to invest?
It is perfectly safe to invest in Bitcoins. Investment in Bitcoins entails the same risk as an investment in any other thing such as Gold, or Company Shares, or Real-Estate. The prices of these things are determined by the value that people are willing to pay. In a similar way, as long as someone is willing to pay for the cryptocurrency that you are holding, the investment is safe.
The other point of concern is that investment is cryptocurrencies and bitcoins is not legal. More than 10 countries have made cryptocurrency legal including European Union, Canada, and Japan. You can check the legality of all the countries here.
Conclusion
With a market capitalization of more than $260 billion, we can safely say that Bitcoin is here to stay. If you have money lying around that you have not put to use, it is a good and viable investment. However, it goes without saying that you should only invest as much as you can afford to lose.
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