What is Bitcoin? How does it work? Find out here 

Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency by market cap is the first mainstream cryptocurrency. It was launched in the year 2009 by an anonymous developer Satoshi Nakamoto. Here is everything you need to need about Bitcoin. 

What is Bitcoin? 

Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency. Cryptocurrencies are an electronic form of money, whose record is stored on the blockchain, which is a digital ledger. 

Who created Bitcoin? 

In 2008, an anonymous developer, who went by Satoshi Nakamoto, released a whitepaper, Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System.  

The paper described how any two willing parties could transact directly with each other without the need for a trusted third party, like a central bank or a government. 

It also solved the double-spending problem with the help of blockchain. 

Nakamoto's identity remains unknown.  

Why was Bitcoin created? 

Bitcoin’s genesis’ block's coinbase contains the following headline from The Times. 

“Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks" 

Many people interpret it as both a timestamp and a statement on the instability caused by fractional-reserve banking which was the main cause behind the 2008 financial crisis. 

How does Bitcoin work? 

Bitcoin is a peer-to-peer network. Users can exchange Bitcoin with others without the need of any middlemen to conduct and confirm the transactions via the network.  

Users can join this network directly and gain access to the blockchain, which is the network's public ledger that contains a record of all prior Bitcoin transactions. 

How many Bitcoins exist? 

The entire quantity of Bitcoin is capped at 21 million coins, which means that once that number is reached, the protocol will cease minting new coins.  

Furthermore, all the existing Bitcoin needs to be mined before 2140, or else the unmined Bitcoin post that point in time will be lost forever. 

How do I buy Bitcoins? 

Bitcoin can be bought on traditional centralized exchanges (CEX) like Binance, Coinbase, FTX, CoinDCX, WazirX, CoinSwitch Kuber and other exchanges. It can also be bought on Decentralised exchanges (DEX) like UniSwap or PancakeSwap. 

Bitcoin can also be bought in a peer-to-peer (P2P) method for cash but there are high chances of fraud in this method.

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