Understanding Bitcoin

Although it may seem complicated, understanding Bitcoin and how it works isn’t really that difficult. Personally, I think the difficulty people have with the idea of it is simply that they have not taken the time to understand it. For argument sake let’s take the idea of government fiat currencies. Now when it really comes down to it, in thinking about these I would suspect that the majority of people do not really understand how these work either. If you don’t believe me just take a tally of your family and friends and ask them simple questions that everyone should know about the money we use daily such as how is the money supply increased, what is fractional reserve banking, how does an ATM ensure the money is from my account, how does the bank ensure my cheques are processed in the order that I write them, how is a wire transfer from my bank account to another work, and why are traditional currencies inflationary? As you can see these are no easy questions to answer either. The difference it seems really boils down to the fact that in the case of real world money it is the institutions that control it and the common folk have no need to understand it beyond how to insert a debit card into the machine, write the amount and name on a cheque, and fill out paperwork at a bank teller window. To me personally this is a little crazy. I mean would you sit down at a table with a bunch of professionals and play poker without having any idea of how the game is actually played simply trusting trusting in the fact that all those other players have your best interest at heart. I mean chances are they would not outright lie about the rules, but I would bet that there would be some things that they would hold back to ensure that they have the upper hand in the long game. Antidotes aside, understanding what Bitcoin is and how it works does take a little time and mental capabilities, but I think when you really boil it down it’s really no more difficult than understanding what goes on in the back corridor of the fiat and banking worlds of the common money we use everyday. Of course, the thing with Bitcoin as at present individuals are required to do most things individually understanding is imperative to access and usability as walking up to a teller window and begging for assistance and advice really ain’t possible in the crypto sphere. So with further ado, let’s dive in and see what a little time spent to understand can do.