The Bitcoin (symbol: ₿; code: BTC or XBT) is a cryptocurrency created in 2009 by an anonymous inventor, known under the pseudonym of Satoshi Nakamoto, who developed an idea that he presented on the Internet at the end of 2008. By convention the term Bitcoin is used with the initial capitalized refers to the technology and the network, while if lowercase (bitcoin) refers to the currency itself.
Bitcoin is not classified as a currency by finance experts, but as a highly volatile means of exchange. Unlike most of the traditional currencies, Bitcoin does not use a central body or sophisticated financial mechanisms, the value is determined solely by the demand and supply lever: it uses a database distributed among the network nodes that track transactions, but it uses cryptography to manage functional aspects, such as the generation of new currency and the attribution of bitcoin ownership.
The Bitcoin network allows the anonymous possession and transfer of coins; the data necessary to use their own bitcoins can be saved on one or more personal computers or electronic devices such as smartphones, in the form of a digital "wallet", or maintained with third parties that perform functions similar to a bank. In any case, bitcoins can be transferred over the Internet to anyone with a "bitcoin address". The peer-to-peer structure of the Bitcoin network and the lack of a central body makes it impossible for any governmental or non-governmental authority to block transfers, sequestration of bitcoins without the possession of their keys or the devaluation due to the entry of new currency.
Bitcoin is one of the first implementations of a concept defined as cryptocurrency, described for the first time in 1998 by Wei Dai on a mailing list.
Economy
History of the exchange rate with the US dollar.
The total countervalue of the Bitcoin economy, calculated in December 2012 was about 140 million US dollars , in April 2013 1.4 billion US dollars , in November 2013, with a 1 bitcoin exchange rate = 540 USD , the counter value rises to more than 6 billion US dollars.
The bitcoin-based economy is still very small, compared to long-established economies, and the software is still in a beta release state, but real goods and services such as used cars or software development contracts. Bitcoins are accepted for both online services and tangible assets .
There are now many bodies, organizations and associations that accept donations in bitcoin; among the many we can mention the Electronic Frontier Foundation , The Pirate Bay , Free Software Foundation [13] and also Wikimedia Foundation .
Since November 2013, the University of Nicosia, in Cyprus, accepts bitcoin as a means of payment of university fees. [15] Beginning July 1, 2016, in the city of Zug, capital of one of Switzerland's wealthiest cantons, some public services, such as health and transport, can be paid in bitcoins. [16] Some traders, using exchange sites, allow to change bitcoins in different currencies, including US dollars, euros, Russian rubles and Japanese yen.
Anyone can check the list of bitcoin exchanges (called Blockchain) and observe transactions in real time. Several services are already available to facilitate these operations.
Differences with legal tender currencies
Projection on the total bitcoins over time.
Unlike legal tender currencies, bitcoins have the characteristic that no one can control their value due to the decentralized nature of the currency creation method . In Bitcoin the amount of currency in circulation is limited a priori, moreover it is perfectly predictable and therefore known by all its users in advance. Currency inflation in circulation can not therefore be used by a central body to redistribute wealth among users.
Transfers are defined as a change of ownership of the currency, and are made without the need for an external body to act as a supervisor between the parties. This mode of interchange makes it impossible to cancel the transaction and then reappropriate the coins that have changed ownership. The Bitcoin client transmits the transaction to its nearest nodes, which verify the authenticity and availability of the funds and in turn relay them back to the nodes to which they are connected.
The total number of bitcoins tends asymptotically to the limit of 21 million. The availability of new coins grows like a geometric series every 4 years; in 2013 half of the possible coins were generated and in 2017 it will be three quarters, so in less than 32 years.