What is Bitcoin?
Bitcoin is the most famous cryptocurrency in the world. BTC was developed in October 2008 by a programmer under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto, and in January 2009, the Bitcoin design process was distributed as an open source, providing a significant meaning as the start of a new era of cryptocurrency. Since then, as of 2022, Bitcoin has been evaluated as the forefront leader of the global cryptocurrency market and trend. Furthermore, Bitcoin is recognized as one of the key assets in the modern capitalist market, coinciding along dollars, real estate, stocks, and gold.
The rise and influence of Bitcoin is to the extent that Bitcoin is almost interchangeable with cryptocurrency itself (Bitcoin = cryptocurrency) as BTC is currently the most influential cryptocurrency in the market.
Who invented bitcoin?
Bitcoin was introduced in 2009 as an open-source software created by an anonymous programmer (or multiple programmers) under the pseudonym, Satoshi Nakamoto. Since then, numerous rumors have circulated about who created Bitcoin, and as of 2022, no person has been officially confirmed or identified yet.
What is the purpose of Bitcoin?
The idea of this cryptocurrency arose from developing a system for non-cash transfers. The critical task of the creator of Bitcoin was to create a technology that allows transparent and, at the same time, anonymous payments via the Internet. The difficulty was to keep the information about the payer and the recipient confidential and to allow the payment data to be presented to third parties.
Eventually, Satoshi Nakamoto created Bitcoin as a counter to the traditional fractional reserve banking system, which is itself backed by debt. Such a standard scheme for the banking world usually bursts like a bubble on the eve of crises. Governments are forced to save the situation, which leads to inevitable negative results. Examples of such consequences are the Great Depression and the 2008 crisis.
The network’s first block, the Genesis Block, presents evidence that Satoshi Nakamoto created Bitcoin for this purpose. It encodes the title of an article from the Financial Times published on January 3, 2009. This article discusses the need for repeated government assistance to rescue British banks from bankruptcy.
How Is Bitcoin Used?
The Bitcoin network serves a similar purpose as the fiat system but is designed digitally and more decentralized.
So today, bitcoins are mainly used for:
- Making instant international transfers with low fees while not being subject to economic restrictions;
- Seamlessly performing cross-border transactions;
- Remaining incognito thanks to the anonymity of Bitcoin;
- Earning on a price difference;
- You can use your BTC wallet to make transfers in cryptocurrencies and do not depend on banking KYC.
Also, many exchanges and crypto wallets allow for Bitcoin staking. For example, you can drive the potential of your funds to the top by earning guaranteed APY with the highly profitable BTC flexible staking on ByBit. The “flexibility” means depositing and withdrawing assets from the stake anytime, anywhere.
By doing so, you can hold Bitcoins and get passive income.
How to buy Bitcoin for Beginners
Now, let’s look at how to buy bitcoins on ByBit. To do so, you should complete some relatively easy steps:
1. Browse to the crypto exchange.
Go directly to the website or download the official ByBit app from App Store or Google Play.
2. Log in.
Register and verify a new account or log in to an existing one. You should pass KYC verification in case your future purchase exceeds 50 BTC.
3. Deposit.
Top up your balance. Currently, you can buy BTC both for fiat and cryptocurrencies.
4. Find BTC.
Go to the “Trade” page. Then search for the required trading pair. If you want to buy Bitcoin for USDT, your option would be BTC/USDT.
5. Decide what amount you need.
Check the current price of the coin and think about what amount of bitcoins you want to buy (there is no need to buy exactly 1 BTC, you can purchase as little as $5 equivalent of Bitcoin).
6. Click “Buy.”
After that, you’ll find the acquired amount of “digital gold” in your spot wallet.
What is Bitcoin Mining?
To avoid chaos in the Bitcoin network, only one blockchain member shares the collected information about transactions at a particular time, and the rest update their records based on their data packet. Such a member of the network is chosen randomly. This process is called mining.
When creating a block, its author receives a reward for completing complex mathematical operations. This reward is the first transaction of the block. The other transfers that have not yet been entered into any block are written to it. The block creator can manage its composition and select transactions.
The unit of measurement for mining performance is hash per second (hash/s), which also means one of the power parameters of a graphics card. GPU resources are used to calculate the hash, which leads to the formation of a new block.
However, the more people want to create blocks, the fewer chances miners with regular home computers have – you can already find companies selling equipment or data center capacities specifically for mining. This equipment increases the probability of being ahead of a more powerful processor performing the same operation. The chances for the home minor are reduced to almost zero.
In addition to setting the hash calculation with the correct amount, there is a “complexity” parameter that regulates the numerical value of the result. The smaller the target value, the more difficult it is to complete the task. About every two weeks, the system complicates new block headers’ requirements to maintain an average speed of 1 block per 10 minutes. It is worth noting that the hash result is entirely unpredictable, which makes it impossible to cheat to achieve the desired result.
The system is programmed to halve the block reward amount every few years to keep the value of Bitcoin from declining. Initially, you could get 50 units of cryptocurrency for each new block. Then the bonus was halved again – a decreasing geometric progression.
How to mine Bitcoin
There are many ways to mine Bitcoin (cloud mining, app mining, etc.). However, truly successful entrepreneurs choose to mine on their own. It will require purchasing powerful equipment or separate server storage, which potentially can yield significant returns.
So if you are considering mining, here is what you need to do:
- Purchase equipment;
- Select the mining pool;
- Choose a program for mining;
- Start mining;
- Withdraw BTCs to your wallet.
Bitcoin’s Technology and Network
When Bitcoin was first introduced, the most notable feature was the lack of a centralized financial intervention. Bitcoin is designed to be managed and operated only based on algorithms. All transactions of the Bitcoin owner are recorded in a single book within a horizontal P2P network. Furthermore, these accounting records are designed to be open and distributed to all users over the P2P network. Therefore, every transaction that occurs on the Bitcoin network is recorded in the one and only open book and stored in a distributed manner, also known as the blockchain, and is considered as one of the best technologies of the 21st century.
The Importance of Bitcoin Mining
Bitcoin mining is important because it is the driving force behind the BTC network. Participants who use their computing resources to participate in the security and transaction record management of the Bitcoin network will receive BTC as a reward, similar to mining for gold. This act of compensation is called โBitcoin miningโ. Thanks to this process of Bitcoin mining, a global network of tens of thousands of voluntary validators (miners) and users around the world serve as financial institutions on its own.
A total of 21 million Bitcoin will be mined by 2145.
Five Characteristics of Bitcoin
1. Decentralization
Bitcoin’s network is designed to be independent of governments or institutions in certain countries. In other words, Bitcoin pursues decentralization. The BTC network is designed to work as part of a vast network with economic incentives for individuals, institutions, and miners who drive the network. All participants act according to their interests to ensure that the network continues. Because of this design, Bitcoin networks are designed to continue to function even if a portion of the networks are not working properly.
2. Anonymity
A typical financial institution in the modern capitalist market knows all the information about its users, including their balance, address, phone number, and credit. However, the cryptocurrency wallet opened to store Bitcoin is not associated with any specific individual or institution. In other words, anyone can freely open a cryptocurrency wallet without entering or disclosing personal information, and no one will know the transactions that occurred in the specific wallet.
However, the possibility that Bitcoin anonymity can be used to engage in illegal and dangerous actions such as illegal transactions or financing terrorism has emerged as a big issue. To address this problem, large cryptocurrency exchanges such as Binance, FTX, and Bybit have implemented authentication policies such as the KYC (Personal Identification) before usage. However, transactions between individuals (P2P) corresponding to Bitcoin’s original transactions still remain anonymous.
3. Transparency
This characteristic corresponds to the anonymity and relative concept of Bitcoin. All Bitcoin transactions are recorded on the blockchain. As a result, please be aware that if your cryptocurrency wallet address is open to public, it will be easy to see how much cryptocurrency you have or when you have conducted any transactions.
4. Quickness
Bitcoin networks process payments in real time. Typically, transfers from one country to another require a considerable amount of time, but cryptocurrency transactions using Bitcoin can complete the remittance in a matter of minutes. Some argue that because of this advantage, existing banks and simple remittance services, which utilize such services to make huge profits through remittances, are trying to prevent the expansion of the cryptocurrency market.
5. Irrevocability
If you send a Bitcoin, it is impossible to cancel or reverse this process unless the recipient returns the transaction. Thanks to these irreversible properties, the transparency of the Bitcoin blockchain is complete.
Bitcoin vs. Ethereum
Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) are the two largest cryptocurrencies in the world. Although both are decentralized crypto products based on blockchain technology, they are very different.
Bitcoin wants to be an actual form of money and an officially recognized digital currency. On the other hand, Ethereum is more of a programmable asset that can automate contracts between anonymous parties and serve as a base for various DeFi apps.
Technically, Bitcoin and Ethereum are networks. BTC is a coin of the Bitcoin network, and Ether (ETH) is Ethereum’s native token.
Bitcoin remains only a means of payment to this day. The Ethereum ecosystem, on the other hand, is much broader. With the help of smart contract technology, Ethereum allows third-party developers to create decentralized applications. This opportunity is actively used in the whole Web3 sector.
While BTC has a fixed supply of 21 million coins, its current emission is 19 million. In turn, there are 122 million ether coins in circulation. Moreover, ETH does not have a maximum supply.
Since BTC acts like a currency, if its supply were unlimited, it would be devalued, like fiat currencies, when more money is printed. On the other hand, ETH, like programmable currency, does not tend to stabilize or grow. Instead, its goal is to add value and usability by creating opportunities and engaging users and companies to build on its technologies.
BTC can be spent in many more places than ETH. BTC is accepted by some small and medium enterprises worldwide and large companies such as Microsoft or Wikipedia.
And only a few places accept payments in ETH. However, this difference does not make BTC more valuable than ETH, or even more useful, since the two serve entirely different functions.
While being accepted in many places, BTC has begun to serve as the national legal tender in El Salvador.
However, ETH offers another use, i.e., exchange automation. Its smart contracts allow two parties to make a deal, such as buying a house or renting a taxi. ETH reduces intermediaries, thereby limiting bureaucracy, waiting times, and fees. It also strengthens security by ensuring that every exchange is automatic, irreversible, and transparent.
Both cryptocurrencies have a substantial global range of applications in their fields, as well as decentralizing influence and power, returning people’s assets to their own hands.
Comparison table of Bitcoin vs. Ethereum
| Criteria | Bitcoin | Ethereum |
|---|---|---|
| Creator(s) | Satoshi Nakamoto | Vitalik Buterin, Gavin Wood, Charles Hoskinson, Anthony Di Iorio, and Joseph Lubin |
| Essence | A credible alternative to traditional fiat currencies | A platform to run smart contracts and DeFi applications |
| Project start | 2009 | 2015 |
| Release method | Genesis block mined | Presale |
| Hashing algorithm | SHA-256 | Ethash |
| Security protocol | PoW | PoS |
| Supply | 21,000,000 BTC | Unlimited |
| Time of new block creation | about 10 minutes | 12-15 seconds |
| Reward per block | 6.25 BTC | 2 ETH |
| Capitalization | $364,458,138,039 | $156,565,593,772 |
Are Bitcoins safe?
In terms of investment, no trusted source will approve BTC as a 100% safe tool. No government back this network, so there are no guarantees that its rate will stay the same tomorrow. Also, its price holds its position primarily due to the people’s belief in it.
However, if we talk about the safety of the network, then Bitcoin can be named one of the most secure projects alive. Many miners work daily to provide the decentralization and security of the blockchain, making it one of the most protected networks.
We Coin-Labs.com provides only objective information about Bitcoin.
Therefore, we are not responsible for the investment decision in Bitcoin and the resulting loss.
Bitcoin Basics
Here are some factors that investors should consider before investing in Bitcoin.
| Cryptocurrency Features | Bitcoin (BTC) |
|---|---|
| Publisher or Developers | Satoshi Nakamoto |
| Headquarters (Registration Number) | USA |
| Symbol | BTC |
| Platform | Blockchain |
| Published Date (CMC Registration) | 2010-07-13 |
| Max Supply | 21,000,000 BTC |
Reliability Score of Bitcoin in 2023
These are indexes mesuring the investment reliability of Bitcoin conducted by Coin-Labs.com.
| Investment Reliability Rating Items | Scores and Current Status |
|---|---|
| Company Activation Rate | 8.0 / 10.0 CAR |
| Communication Rate | 9.0 / 10.0 CR |
| Technology Transparency Rate | 10.0 / 10.0 TTR |
| Development Participation Rate | 10.0 / 10.0 DPR |
| Listing Status on the World's Top 10 Exchanges | Listed on 10 Exchanges |
| Number of Available Pairs Worldwide | 10,479 Pairs |
| Market Cap of the Cryptocurrency | 515,445,758,474 USD (Rank #1) |
The table above shows the result of investment suitability evaluation for Bitcoin.
Check out how we evaluate cryptocurrencies on the crypto rating description page.
Bitcoin Price
Here are the price and recent trading volume of Bitcoin. (Data of 2023-09-28 16:33:00)
| Price Items | Price and Trading Volume of Bitcoin |
|---|---|
| Bitcoin Price | 26,435.803 USD |
| Price Change 24h | 0.78% |
| Price Change 7d | -2.16% |
| Trading Volume 24h | 12,816,894,824 USD |
| Trading Volume Change 24h | 76.59% |
Cryptocurrency Metadata
You can check the development status and social media information of Bitcoin through the links in the table below.
| Metadata Source | URL |
|---|---|
| ๐ Official Website | https://bitcoin.org/ |
| ๐ White Paper | https://bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf |
| ๐ฐ๏ธ Source Code (GitHub) | https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin |
| ๐ฆ Twitter | |
| ๐ค Reddit | https://reddit.com/r/bitcoin |
| ๐บ Message Board | https://bitcointalk.org |
Where to Buy Bitcoin
Here are the top ten world crypto exchanges where traders can buy Bitcoin in 2023.
| Top10 Exchanges | Listed Status | Page URL |
|---|---|---|
| Binance | Listed | https://www.binance.com/en/trade/BTC_USDT |
| Coinbase | Listed | https://pro.coinbase.com/trade/BTC-USD |
| Kraken | Listed | https://www.kraken.com/prices/bitcoin?quote=usd |
| KuCoin | Listed | https://www.kucoin.com/trade/BTC-USDT |
| Bitfinex | Listed | https://trading.bitfinex.com/t/BTC:USD |
| OKX | Listed | https://www.okx.com/trade-spot/btc-usdt |
| Huobi | Listed | https://www.huobi.com/en-us/exchange/btc_usdt |
| Bitstamp | Listed | https://www.bitstamp.net/markets/btc/usd/ |
| Bybit | Listed | https://www.bybit.com/en-US/trade/spot/BTC/USDT |
| Gate.io | Listed | https://www.gate.io/trade/btc_usdt |
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the current price of Bitcoin?
Bitcoin price today is 26,435.803 USD. Furthermore, the price of Bitcoin has fluctuated by 0.78% from 24 hours ago, and by -2.16% from a week ago.
Where is Bitcoin listed?
Currently, it is listed on a total of 10 among the world top 10 exchanges.
What is the market cap of Bitcoin now?
Currently, Bitcoin has a market cap of 515,445,758,474 USD, which is ranking 1 among cryptocurrencies worldwide.
How much is the trade volume of Bitcoin?
Currently, 19,498,018 BTC coins are circulating through 10,479 market pairs. As a result, in the last 24 hours, 12,816,894,824 USD of BTC coins were traded in the market.
