Learn about Bitcoin
Bitcoin was created in 2009 by Satoshi Nakamoto. Bitcoin is the most well known cryptocurrency and the highest traded cryptocurrency. This cryptocurrency is decentralized, which means no one party controls it. The network is maintained by users who run specialized software on their computers to process transactions and add the transactions to the blockchain. Bitcoin uses an algorithm called SHA-256, a cryptographic hashing algorithm that proves the integrity of the data. Transacting Bitcoin takes 10 minutes for it to process on the blockchain.
In 2009, Satoshi Nakamoto sent the first transaction of Bitcoin to Hal Finney. Finney was a computer programmer and Bitcoin contributor early on. The first transaction was for 10 Bitcoin and was the starting point for the Bitcoin network.
Segregated Witness (SegWit) was implemented on the Bitcoin network in 2017. SegWit increases the block size limit and improves the transaction capacity. The implementation of this was a huge milestone for Bitcoin, as it helped to create more room on the blockchain. This allows users to send transactions faster and more efficiently.
The Lightning Network is a second-layer protocol that was intended to address some of the speed limitations that the Bitcoin Network was facing. The Lightning Network was implemented on the Bitcoin Network in 2018. The Lightning Network works off of multiple channels built off of each other on top of the Bitcoin blockchain. Users’ transactions do not need to be processed by the Bitcoin Network because users can transact between each other off-chain. With the implementation of the Lightning Network, transactions can process almost instantly, and with less cost in comparison to traditional Bitcoin transactions.
Bitcoin is the largest cryptocurrency, with a current market capitalization of over $1 trillion, which means that Bitcoin has over $1 trillion in coins in circulation currently. Bitcoin is often used as an example of the overall health of the cryptocurrency market. Bitcoin has a significant lead over other cryptocurrencies in the industry.
Recently, Bitcoin has captured the attention of institutional investors, such as hedge funds, family offices, and corporations. This has led to the adoption of Bitcoin as an asset class, as well as brought Bitcoin awareness as a potential store of value. Major corporations, such as Tesla, Square and MicroStrategy have highlighted Bitcoins potential as a long-term store of value by investing billions of dollars into this cryptocurrency.
