What Is Bitcoin?

Bitcoin is a form of buy, sell, payment and exchange.

It is not money. However, it can be used like money. In the United States it is not a currency. The United States government controls what is currency in the United States. Bitcoin is property. You can own it, you can buy it, you can sell it, you can use it to exchange for goods and services, you can build a hedge against the U.S. dollar with it. However, it is not money. It is not apart of the currency issued by the United States government.

Bitcoin is a type of digital currency in which a record of transactions is maintained and new units of currency are generated by the computational solution of mathematical problems, and which operates independently of a central bank. (Google)

Bitcoin was created by a person. The name most associated with the person who created it is Satoshi Nakamoto. There is only a limited amount of Bitcoin available worldwide. Once that limit is reached no more exists.

It can be used like money. It is deregulated. It is not regulated by banks or the government. It is digital. It is also known as Cryptocurrency.

Cryptocurrency is “a digital currency in which transactions are verified and records maintained by a decentralized system using cryptography, rather than by a centralized authority.” (Google)

Bitcoin can be bought with U.S. Dollars or whatever your currency is in your country and it can be used to buy, exchange and pay for things that you would buy with regular fiat money. You can also sell Bitcoin for U.S. dollars. It is legit. There are even ATM’s for it. In the U.S., you do have to report your buys and sells (your transactions) to the IRS.

Bitcoin is an investment and is like a hedge against the U.S. Dollar. It can be comparable to gold. In the U.S., if the U.S. dollar fails, then Bitcoin and other hard assets like gold come into play and hedge against it. You would be able to still buy, sell, exchange, make payments because of the value, accessibility, and ability of Bitcoin. People are building their portfolios and investing in it and obtaining it now. Companies and businesses are implementing it in their form of payment options, where the consumer can pay with/in Bitcoin. PayPal most recently, implemented the ability of its users to buy, sell, and hold Bitcoin. National retailers are now accepting Bitcoin as a form of payment. Games offer rewards in Bitcoin and Lolli offers rewards when using their service when you shop at top stores.

To learn more about Bitcoin and earn Bitcoin while you learn about Bitcoin visit Coinbase. Coinbase also provides a digital wallet for Bitcoin users which is also needed to store Bitcoin. For current and more information on digital assets and blockchain technology visit Coindesk.

Bridget Denise Webb