Bitcoin definition by Coinbase : Bitcoin is digital money that allows for secure peer-to-peer transactions on the internet. Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency
- Unlike services like Venmo and PayPal, which rely on the traditional financial system for permission to transfer money and on existing debit/credit accounts, Bitcoin is decentralized: any two people, anywhere in the world, can send Bitcoin to each other without the involvement of a bank, government, or other institution.
- Every transaction involving Bitcoin is tracked on the blockchain, which is similar to a bank’s ledger, or log of customers’ funds going in and out of the bank. In simple terms, it’s a record of every transaction ever made using Bitcoin. The blockchain is the network of many computers all over the world that verify the transactions in a way that it can never be done incorrectly. No human or computer can make a mistake and change the amount of Bitcoin someone has. Also, since the network is made of so many computers verifying the information in a specific way, it can not be hacked.
- the Bitcoin blockchain is distributed across the entire network (the blockchain). No company, country, or third party is in control of it; and anyone can become part of that network. The Bitcoin network is the largest in the world. That’s why we use the term Decentralized.
- There will only ever be 21 million bitcoin. This is digital money that cannot be inflated or manipulated in any way. It was created after 2008 economic crisis. The 2020 crisis is bringing much attention to the practicality of Bitcoin as a more valuable and inflation-proof money.
- It isn’t necessary to buy an entire Bitcoin: you can buy just a fraction of one if that’s all you want or need.