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Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash are the talk of the internet after the threat of a Bitcoin Civil War was announced yesterday.
But wait, before we go any further let’s rehash the basics, like what is Bitcoin and cryptocurrency?
What are Bitcoin?
Bitcoin is what is known as a cryptocurrency and a decentralised digital payment system, created by Bitcoin miners.
This means it does not exist in the material world and there is no central authority or bank associated with it. A growing number businesses and individuals are now using Bitcoin as a way to pay for goods and/or services due to its transparent nature and flexibility to chose your own fees.
Bitcoin.org explains the cryptocurrency as an open source form public design that nobody owns or controls and anyone can take part in.
The website also explains that there is a finite amount of Bitcoin in the world, 21 million bitcoins to be exact.
However because Bitcoins can be broken down into smaller sub-units of bits, the finite amount is not seen as a barrier.
Bitcoin miners process transactions and secure the network using specialized hardware and are collecting new bitcoins in exchange (more about that below).
What is the Bitcoin ‘block chain”?
The Bitcoin block chain is the name of a ledger which contains all the processed transactions relating to Bitcoin, which is used to check a transaction’s authenticity, which can be done using digital signatures.
How and where do I buy Bitcoin?
The best way to buy, trade, earn and spend Bitcoin in Australia is through any of the following methods.
This list was put together by Finder.com.au.
Forex Users can use bitcoins to trade and make investments.
Bitcoin exchanges Purchase bitcoins using different currencies, including Australian Dollars.
Buy bitcoin services You can buy bitcoins from a physical location or online transaction by referring customers, deposits or betting addresses. This system is commission-based.
Advertising You can pay users in bitcoins to visit sites, or you can earn bitcoins by monetising online content.
Gambling You can use bitcoins to play in online gambling games, or be paid in bitcoins for your winnings.
Mining As explained above, you can earn bitcoins by validating bitcoin transactions online.
Domain hosting You can use bitcoins to register a domain name.
What is Bitcoin Cash?
Bitcoin has split and Bitcoin Cash has been created, this is what is being referred to as the Bitcoin civil war.
Bitcoin Cash was first launched on August 1st at 18:24:41 UTC (GMT).
The creation of Bitcoin Cash was an effort to deal with the increasing amount of people now using the cryptocurrency.
Bitcoin Cash is a replica of Bitcoin, with a few technical and ideological differences in the way Bitcoin is scaled.
The movement towards Bitcoin Cash is lead by ex-Facebook developer Amaury Séchet and is based on the removal of a recorded signature for Bitcoin transactions. This signature takes up a lot of space, and by removing it the theory is the process will become a lot smoother.
There are other differences too, though this is in its most basic form.
The two types of cryptocurrency are now competing for value in the exchange rate though this will not prove to be a problem for casual investors. Read more about Bitcoin cash here.
What is a Bitcoin miner?
A Bitcoin miner or the process of Bitcoin mining is the method and individuals who are keeping all these cryptocurrency transactions moving, the network secure and generally keeping everything in order.
Bitcoin mining has been designed to be fully decentralized with miners operating in all countries and no individual having control over the network. Mining and miners are paid with Bitcoin for their efforts.
Anybody can become a Bitcoin miner by running software with specialized hardware.
For more information on Bitcoin and the way it work check out the official site here.
