Too many people in my network, who I have met recently, have said to me that they don't really understand Bitcoin or crytocurrencies. So here's a handy reference guide for all of you with some very useful links for more information.
Note that I beginners guide to bitcoincryptocurrencies hardly an expert - in fact, I am a very ordinary businessman in that respect, but I have read-up about it and have had some involvement with early stage start-ups who are working on Blockchain for example, hence my post. As always, please refer to the links for more information or contact me with feedback on the post.
Bitcoins are purely digital virtual coins exchanged directly between two parties online with no intermediary involved. The appeal of Bitcoin is that it is not controlled or backed by any bank or central government authority - in that sense, you could think of it as a massive disruption in the world of fiat money as we know it. To date, this is probably still the most simple and accurate description for a Bitcoin.
Best descriptions of Bitcoin that I have come across: Official Bitcoin site with a good glossary of terms: Excellent set of FAQ's here: The Telegraph recently published an excellent article explaining Cryptocurrencies where it defined these as currency associated with the internet that uses cryptography, the process of converting legible information into an almost 'uncrackable' code, to track purchases and transfers.
The underlying principle being that it is a form of digital money that is designed to be secure and, in many cases, anonymous. Bitcoin is probably the first known cryptocurrency, but beginners guide to bitcoincryptocurrencies it's introduction, there has been a proliferation of other cryptocurrencies with estimates of over a available now and yet many experts believe that this is simply the beginning for digital money. Others such as Ripple and Litecoin too beginners guide to bitcoincryptocurrencies gained popularity in the recent past and have seen some level of mass-scale adoption along with some banks early-adopting them.
The original Telegraph article: Excellent FAQs on cryptocurrencies: But now blockchain can support a wide range of applications, and is already being used for P2P payment services, supply chain tracking and more. A blockchain maintains a growing list of ordered records, called blocks.
Each block has a time-stamp beginners guide to bitcoincryptocurrencies a link to a previous block. All confirmed transactions are included in the block chain and that enables Bitcoin wallets to calculate their spendable balance and new transactions can be verified to be spending bitcoins that are actually owned by the spender. A simple example of a blockchain application from the Forbes article is of a digital medical record: It has a timestamp, the date and time when the record was created.
And by design, that entry cannot be changed retroactively, because we want the record of diagnosis, treatment, etc. Only the doctor, who has one private key, and the patient, who has the other, can access the information, and then information is only beginners guide to bitcoincryptocurrencies when one of those users shares his or her private key with a third party - say, a hospital or a specialist. This describes a blockchain for that medical database.
Beginners guide to bitcoincryptocurrencies is built into a blockchain system through beginners guide to bitcoincryptocurrencies time-stamping server and P2P network, and the result is a database that is managed beginners guide to bitcoincryptocurrencies in a decentralised way.
This makes blockchains excellent for recording events, transactions, identity management, and proving provenance. Forbes beginners guide to Blockchain: Nice FAQs and other information on blockchain: You give the company raising the ICO, bitcoin or ethereum, and you get some of a new company's own Beginners guide to bitcoincryptocurrencies with the promise of them becoming the next Bitcoin give or take!
That means that ICOs are issued to raise funds in a reasonably unregulated manner and the coins issued can then easily be traded, although unlike shares they beginners guide to bitcoincryptocurrencies not confer ownership rights on the holders. So the company raising funds through ICOs raise the funds they need in liquid cryptocurrency with no regulatory oversight but have to give up no equity in return and the investors could possibly get earlier liquidity on their holdings!
Sounds too good to be true but until real regulation kicks in, it is!! Economist article on ICOs: FT article on ICOs: As more businesses and governments accept Bitcoin, the future of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies looks promising than ever. But where would you start? Blockchain is a truly disruptive technological advance that will have wide-reaching implications which will beginners guide to bitcoincryptocurrencies just transform the financial services but many other businesses and industries.
There's never a better time to get involved and start the learning process in my opinion. Bitcoin Bitcoins are purely digital virtual coins exchanged directly between two parties online with no intermediary involved.
Bitcoin is essentially uncorrelated to other assets. You should upgrade or use an alternative browser. I could (and did) spend some days at the beach and earn a nice 7 return for the day.