Bitcoin

What is Bitcoin?

Bitcoin is a digital currency that is electronically created and stored. Unlike the euro or US dollar, Bitcoins are not physically printed or generated by any federal reserve, but are calculated by many people around the world using bare computing power. Bitcoin, like other digital currencies, is not subject to control by any state or centralised entity. It can be used to purchase goods and services, or to conduct financial market transactions. In doing so, Bitcoin performs the same functions as a conventional fiat currency. The most important characteristic of Bitcoin and key difference to other financial assets, is its decentralised nature. The Bitcoin network is not subject to any institutional control - the network controls itself. It was created by a software developer with the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto in 2009, whose identity has remained a mystery to this day. The network’s protocol was developed for a maximum of 21 million Bitcoins that can be mined by miners. These coins can be divided into smaller units, called Satoshis.

Bitcoin is solely based on mathematics and cryptography. There is no institutional organization behind the currency to ensure its value. The software is Open Source, which means that everyone can understand what the protocol does and whether it serves its purpose. The technology underlying Bitcoin is known as the blockchain and decisions in the network are made by its users via a consensus mechanism defined in the program code.

Bitcoin's price today is 62468.8 USD with a 24-hour trading volume of 31.7 Billion USD. BTC's price has changed +0.6% in the last 24 hours.

• Website

  Official

• Github

  Development

• 3rd Jan 2009

  Genesis Block?

• 67.81USD

  All time low

• 67.2KUSD

  All time high

• 61.8KUSD

  Daily low

• 64.0KUSD

  Daily high

Where can you buy & trade Bitcoin?

A Bitcoin Exchange works like many trading places for digital currencies, where an electronic order book matches buyers and sellers according to defined rules. The price is decided by the market. If you find a seller for a certain price, you can buy his offer, and vice versa. A market is considered to be particularly liquid, if price moves in a healthy manner and your orders are filled quickly. A Bitcoin Broker, on the other hand, acts as a buyer and seller itself. The Broker is in possession of Bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies and buying coins can be as easy as ordering in an online shop.

The best exchange to trade Bitcoin with USD is the BitMEX Perpetual Futures Market, where 1 BTC is worth 62539.5 USD with a 24 hour trading volume of 1.3 Billion USD.