Meaning of Bitcoin
Bitcoin (BTC) is a digital currency, which is used and distributed electronically. Bitcoin is a decentralised peer-to-peer network. No single institution or person controls it. Bitcoins can’t be printed and their amount is very limited – only 21 mln Bitcoins can ever be created.
Why Use Bitcoin
1.Decentralised
One of Satoshi Nakamoto’s main objectives when creating Bitcoin was the network’s independence from any governing authorities. It is designed so that every person, business, as well as every machine involved in mining and transaction verification, becomes part of a vast network. Moreover, even if some part of the network goes down, the money will keep moving.
2. Anonymous
These days banks know virtually everything about their clients: credit history, addresses, phone numbers, spending habits and so on. It is all very different with Bitcoin, as the wallet doesn’t have to be linked to any personally identifying information. And while some people just simply don’t want their finances to be governed and tracked by any kind of an authority, others might argue that drug trade, terrorism and other illegal and dangerous activities will thrive in this relative anonymity.
3. Transparent
The anonymity of Bitcoin is only relative, as every single BTC transaction that ever happened is stored in the Blockchain. In theory, If your wallet address was publicly used, anyone can tell how much money is in it by carefully studying the blockchain ledger. However, tracing a particular Bitcoin address to a person is still nearly impossible.
Those who wish to stay anonymous with their transactions can take measures to stay under the radar. There are certain types of wallets that prioritise opaqueness and security, but the simplest measure would be to use multiple addresses and not transfer massive amounts of money to a single wallet.
4. Fast
The Bitcoin network processes payments almost instantaneously, it normally takes just a few minutes for someone on the other side of the world to receive the money, while normal bank transfers can take several days.
Non-repudiable
Once you send your Bitcoins to someone, there is no way of getting them back, unless the recipient would want to send them back to you. This ensures the reception of a payment, meaning that whoever you’re trading with can’t scam you by claiming that they never got the money.