Proponents of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies swear that it is the future of money. The opposing side says it is evil and fuels the dark web. Those in-between tend to not understand Bitcoin or simply don’t care about it.

What’s for certain though is that Bitcoin has made nearly every major media headline in the world. Whether you invest in Bitcoin or not, you should learn some of the basics (if you don’t already).

What is Bitcoin?

Bitcoin is an innovative, decentralized, completely digital virtual currency that uses p2p technology to operate. There is no middle man. Neither a central authority nor a centralized bank is involved.

The currency is open sourced, which means the entire design is public. No one owns, or will ever own, Bitcoin.

The Man Behind it All

In 2008, a software developer by the name of Satoshi Nakamoto released the electronic payment system. ‘His’ idea was to produce a method of exchange without a central authority and that could be verifiable and secure.

Satoshi Nakamoto is a pseudonym. No one knows who this is, which has given rise to a significant amount of lore and legend around the creator of Bitcoin.

Regardless of what the media has printed, including pictures of the alleged Nakamoto, no one actually knows.

Is Bitcoin Worthwhile?

From India and China to South Africa, Egypt, the UK, and Canada, people have been talking about Bitcoin for ages. In December 2017, Bitcoin was worth more than gold.

The price was going up thousands of dollars every few days which led to a rapid surge in people wanting a piece of the action. There was a massive bubble around Bitcoin, and it was only a matter of time before it would burst. Today, one Bitcoin is worth around $8,000.

Another consideration is whether or not Bitcoin actually has any value.

It’s basically computer code and people have put a value on it.

What happens if everyone wanted to cash out their Bitcoins? How would the value change then? It does raise some questions about the currency.

On the upside of Bitcoin and other cryptos, it can make people a ton of money. So long as you implement the right strategy and you’re willing to sit on it and see what happens.