Bitcoin: The Untold Story
The blockchain is a fundamental part of how Bitcoin operates. It’s digital ledger records every transaction that takes place on the network. Anyone using the software can see the history of that transaction, which can be used as a reliable form of record-keeping. It’s one of the many reasons many consider it to be one of the most popular and valuable cryptocurrencies.
With the advent of the internet, it was easy to use Bitcoin for open source projects like Wikipedia and BitTorrent. While it worked well for a few months, the developers eventually removed the program’s open-source license, making it impossible to improve the software.
This has lead many to suggest that Satoshi Nakamoto was actually a pseudonym for a single individual, or a group of individuals. Since the story behind the cryptocurrency is shrouded in mystery, some crypto market analysts have suggested that Bitcoin could be “the father of all coins,” based on the number of coins it created in its original 11-year lifecycle.
Every year, a new coin is created to challenge Bitcoin in the market. This is done through a process called a hard fork, when two different versions of the code are present in the ledger at the same time.
When using a cryptocurrency, miners create the ledger of all transactions that have taken place on the network. Miners receive a certain amount of currency for each block created in exchange for their work. As long as these transactions occur at a rate that exceeds the difficulty rate set by the network, the miners will not shut down the rest of the network.
The difficulty rate keeps the number of blocks created on the blockchain constant, while at the same time allowing for less coin to be produced as time goes on.
Bitcoin works on a public ledger, so everyone can see every transaction. When a new transaction is made, a record of it is added to the end of the ledger, up until the current block is filled. These records include the sender, the recipient, the amount of the transaction, and any fees associated with it. The transaction is validated with a block.
Bitcoin can be traded on four markets, two of which are centralized and two of which are decentralized.
In the three centralized markets, one entity acts as the gatekeeper for the trading of digital currency. In each of these markets, the company can take possession of funds or change the rules at any time.