Monday, August 19, 2024

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by Hideo Nakamura
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Bitcoin (BTC)

Bitcoin BTC

$ 59,028.00
1.00000000 BTC
Marketcap
$ 1,165,560,129,827
Volume (24h)
$ 24,776,974,022
Circulating Supply
19,742,200 BTC
Total Supply
21,000,000 BTC
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All time high price: $ 73,738.00 19.95%
All time high date: March 14, 2024
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Bitcoin (BTC) price has decreased -0.98% today!

Bitcoin (BTC) is a cryptocurrency that operates on a blockchain. Currently, it is trading at $ 59,028.00 and a market capitalization of $ 1,165,560,129,827. The price of Bitcoin has decreased -0.98% in the last 24 hours. Currently, Bitcoin ranks #1 among all cryptocurrencies by market capitalization and has a daily trading volume of $ 24,776,974,022.

What is Bitcoin?

Bitcoin is a revolutionary cryptocurrency introduced to the world in January 2009. With its first genesis block mined on 9th January 2009, Bitcoin operates on a decentralized digital currency system, a framework that thrives on cryptographic principles. In contrast to government-issued or fiat currencies such as US Dollars or Euro, Bitcoin doesn’t need a central authority like a central bank or a company for its operation. This decentralization enables Bitcoin to function on a peer-to-peer network, permitting users to directly transfer funds to each other, bypassing any intermediaries.

For further insights into Bitcoin, you may refer to CryptokenTop’s book “How to Bitcoin”.

The Mystery Behind Bitcoin’s Creation

An unknown entity going by the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto is credited with Bitcoin’s creation. Nakamoto envisioned an electronic peer-to-peer cash system, as articulated in the Bitcoin whitepaper. However, the real identity of Satoshi Nakamoto remains an unsolved mystery, with numerous speculations and rumors surrounding Nakamoto’s true persona.

The Working Mechanism of Bitcoin

Contrary to the perception of Bitcoin as a physical-looking coin, it’s essentially a distributed accounting ledger stored in a chain of blocks, leading to the name blockchain. Here’s a comparison of transaction verification in a centralized system (like a bank) and in Bitcoin’s decentralized system:

  • Centralized system: Suppose Alice wants to transact with Bob, the bank maintains the ledger containing Alice and Bob’s balances. The bank verifies if Alice has sufficient funds to transfer to Bob. Upon a successful transaction, the bank debits Alice’s account and credits Bob’s account.
  • Bitcoin’s decentralized system: The ledger is distributed across Bitcoin nodes, with each node maintaining a copy of all balances. If Alice wishes to transact with Bob using Bitcoin, she broadcasts her intent to the network. A Bitcoin miner validates Alice’s transaction to be added to the ledger, provided the miner solves a complex puzzle (Proof of Work). This process ensures the ledger’s resilience against fraudulent transactions in a trustless manner.

Since the mining process involves significant cost (capital expenditure for buying rigs and electricity costs), miners are rewarded with new bitcoins and transaction fees paid by transacting individuals (like Alice).

Potential Risks in Bitcoin’s System

While Bitcoin’s system is robust, it’s not immune to risks. One of them is the 51% attack, where miners control over 51% of the total computational power, undermining the trustless nature of the system. Also, security risks outside the control of the Bitcoin protocol can pose threats.

Securing Your Bitcoins

As transactions typically happen on personal computers, which are vulnerable to malware or spywares, securing your bitcoins is of utmost importance. Hardware wallets such as Trezor and Ledger are recommended to mitigate these risks. They function as external devices that secure your private key, thereby protecting your Bitcoin outside of your computer. Remember to store a copy of the key phrase safely, as loss of the hardware wallet without a key phrase backup could result in permanent loss of your funds.

Bitcoin Halving: A Defining Event

Bitcoin Halving, or the Halvening, is an event that slashes the block reward to miners by half. This event, which takes place approximately every four years, is part of Bitcoin’s monetary policy, gradually reducing the mining reward towards a limited capped supply of 21 million Bitcoin. Upon reaching this cap, miners will earn revenue from transaction fees instead of new bitcoins.

The Halvening is significant due to its potential impact on Bitcoin’s scarcity, leading to high market volatility. Moreover, reduced rewards might force some miners to exit the market, potentially causing instability in the Bitcoin network during the halving period. For real-time updates on the Halvening, you can bookmark CryptokenTop’s bitcoin halving page.

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