Bitcoin
Bitcoin has recently gained popularity due to its increased value and ease of transaction. It not only proved to be an investment option but people use it to make payments. So what is bitcoin? It is a kind of money, a digital currency, without any kind of central bank or administrator.
Bitcoin was invented in 2008 by an unknown person or maybe a group of people who go by the name of Satoshi Nakamoto which is a mystery to this day. In 2009, this cryptocurrency started getting in use after its release as open-source software. Bitcoin is not only the first cryptocurrency but it is the best known and most valuable among all other 5000 cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin is not owned or controlled by anyone and everyone can take part in it. Also, its transactions are verified through a process called mining which requires large computing power. It uses cryptography for security and is thus known as a cryptocurrency and there are no physical bitcoins. Everyone has transparent access to the public ledger which keeps the balance of bitcoins.
This payment network works on blockchain technology. Now blockchain is such a system of recording information which makes it almost impossible to cheat, change or hack the system. Thus, cryptocurrencies are considered one of the safest modes of payment. Here, transactions are done peer to peer i.e they can be exchanged for products and other currencies. Although, it is believed that cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin are being used for illegal purposes as they are not backed by any governments. Only recently, El Salvador became the first and only country in the world to adopt Bitcoin as a legal tender. The future of Bitcoin and all other cryptocurrencies can not be termed as very promising right now as many countries are working toward banning it, but there’s no doubt that in this world of digitalization, the day is not very far when paper currencies will become obsolete and digital currencies will be the preferred mode of payment.