What on earth is this thing called BitCoin? Huh? ... Well ... you have been hearing this term quite often and have always wondered what the hell this was all about ... You see, BitCoin is a form of Internet money that you can utilize to an extent in the same manner as you spend cash.
The difference is that BitCoin is intangible unlike real cash. It is also known as CryptoCurrency and it can neither be felt phyically nor can it be seen. It is typical of the Internet and cannot be involved in transacting business outside the World Wide Web! For that reason, it is also referred to as digital currency. There are many kinds of digital currencies being transacted on the Intermet and the BitCoin takes precedence over the rest.
The BitCoin has a value of its own in relation to any known currency. Often the value of a BitCoin is related to and referred to US Dollars. At present, at the time of writing this article, [the first week of Ovtober 2020] the value of just one Bitcoin is approximately ten thousand US dollars. That means, if you have one BitCoin, you have cash to the value of ten thousand US Dollars!
BitCoin can be used and is being used online in place of cash, to transact many kinds of businesses. In order to transact business via BitCoin, both sides have to be BitCoin savy. There are ways of converting any currency to BTC and vice versa. All these actions have to be carried out online, on the Internet! Remember, crypto currency is intangible and does not occupy space.
When you encash the money converted from BitCoin to regular currency, you have succeeded in changing intangible currency into tangible currency ... of course considering the fact that physical money has weight and volume and the BitCoin is simply virtual. Although the BitCoin has not been permitted in certain countries at this time, in the years to come, this virtual currency, it has been predicted will be a very powerful instrument in the world of business.
The BitCoin is a decentralised form of purchasing power and is not associated with any banking concept either. There is no sole authority to govern it and to keep a close watch on it, and it is not location oriented either. It can be converted directly or otherwise to any currency that is typical of the location of that particular currency.
It can be transferred from one person to another via the Internet without the involvement of a middleman or agency. BitCoin is stored in what is called "wallets," and that too having no volume, weight and shape, resides in servers around the world linked via the Internet. It is, a software program. You need to have such a wallet to store your BitCoin. You need to have a wallet before you start dealing in BitCoin.
Opening a wallet and maintaining it is free. However there are small transaction fees involved when you start dealing in BTC. If you have BTC in your wallet you can send part of it or the entire amount to someone else who has a wallet. Conversely you can also receive BTC from someone who has BTC in his wallet, even if your wallet is empty.
In short, if you have any wallet you can send to any other wallet or receive from any wallet irrespective of the location of the server. Transactions occur via a network of computers. Unlike in the functions of a bank in which the details of every monetary transaction can be accessed by those other than the sender and receiver, BitCoin transaction details are known only to the sender and the receiver.
The BitCoin is just one of the many CryptoCurrencies that are around, each of the rest of them having a different value at any given time. These values fluctuate and obviously the variations in their values are caused by the laws of supply and demand.
There are many kinds of wallets and the factors that distinguish one from the other may be the differences in transaction fees, features that are unique to that particular wallet, and of course the name. The ones mentioned previously are the more popular ones and are the ones that are used by many.
Doing a Google search for Bitcoin Wallets will yield many results. You could one or more from them depending on your requirements.
Every wallet has a log in method and you can log in to your wallet online just like logging in to a website. Having logged in, your dashboard will guide you to the appropriate areas where you can access information on your present balance, details of your transactions, and whatever else that is associated with your account.
Your wallet will generate what is called a "wallet address" for you, and this is just what you need, in order to receive BitCoin from just about anyone anywhere who has a wallet with BitCoin in it. When you request someone to send you BitCoin, what you need to give him is just that wallet address. When you need to send BitCoin to someone you will need his wallet address.
A wallet address will typically consist of 34 characters made up of letters of the English alphabet in both upper and lower cases, and combined with digits. Here is an example of a wallet address ... Take a good look!
To receive payment in BitCoin, no other details will be required from you. Neither your name, nor your e-mail address. Your wallet address is the only identifying factor. Just the wallet address would suffice. Once the sender has alerted you that he has sent you BitCoin, you will receive an e-mail from your wallet admin that you have received some BTC, and the value of the transaction would be stated as well. Then, when you log in to your wallet, you will find all the details of the transfer.
Your wallet address (or for that matter any wallet address) can only be used to send Crypto Currency to that particular wallet! It cannot be used by somebody else to withdraw from the wallet it represents. So giving your wallet address to somebody will not endanger your account!
Even displaying a QR code of your wallet address on your flyers or t-shirt will not, either! The only probable outcome of such an act by you would be, some sucker, generous dude, or philanthrophist might send you some crypto to enhance your collection! Remember nobody can steal your BitCoin by knowing only your wallet address.
Now that you have received the BTC into your wallet you will either want to keep it there with a view to accumulating a large sum over a period of time, and get rich beyond your wildest dreams, or you will want to convert it fast into currency. If the feature of converting BTC to cash and crediting a bank account is available in your country, well and good. All you need is to click around within your dashboard and the BTC you received will be converted to cash and credited to your bank account.
Otherwise you will need to do a Google search for an agency called "Local BitCoins." This organization is represented in many countries worldwide and it is very likely your country also will have an online representation involving locals. If there is, you could check out the site, enroll with them and covert your BTC to your local currency.
Of course you will be dealing with the other members of that site who are involved in buying and selling BitCoin. Everything could be done online, and there is a feature called "Escrow," the functions of which are such that you have the option of releasing the BTC only after the money is credited to your bank account.
Conversely you could even buy BTC from them, paying in your local currency using your credit card, a payment processor, or even transferring money from your bank account. Escrow is applicable here as well.
If the site "Local Bitcoins" is not operating at the time you launch your search, go for the site known as "Atomic Wallet." This site is highly versatile and you need to operate via an app that you could easily download and install. In many ways Atomic Wallet has greater advantages in store.
However, you've got to make sure you understand perfectly well what you are about to do before you do it, and while you are doing it as well. You should also make sure that you have enabled Escrow and it is active while you are on the transaction. This way, the company holds your funds in BTC and releases the BTC to the buyer after it has been confirmed to you that you have received cash into your bank account.
If you wish to buy BTC using cash, the same principle applies. The cash you pay using your credit card or via a payment processor agreed upon will be kept in Escrow by the agency and released only when you approve of it. Utilizing Escrow, you are in control!
Here's something very important ... when you enroll with an agency whose members you are going to transct business with, first and foremost you need to have a wallet address generated by that particular site when you are logged in. Copy it and paste it somewhere.
You will need to transfer your BTC to that wallet address when you wish to sell BTC. Just to make double sure that everything's OK, log out of the site then log in once more, and go to your dashboard and check if the wallet address previously generated matches the one you copied and pasted. Remember that all Crypto Currency payments made to any wallet are NON-REVERSIBLE! If you send Crypto to the wrong wallet ... that's the end of it!
So ... leaving BitCoin for a moment, as previously discussed, the number of CryPtoCurrencies traded online are well in excess of 1500 in number. Their values in relation to all other currencies keep fluctuating. It's again caused by the laws of supply and demand. For your information, here are a few other CryptoCurrencies.
- Litecoin [LTC]
- Ethereum [ETH]
- Zcash [ZEC]
- Dash [DASH]
- Ripple [XRP]
- Monero [XMR]
- Bitcoin Cash [BCH]
- NEO [NEO]
- Cardano [ADA]
- EOS [EOS] & many more ...
There are lots and lots of people working online trading CryptoCurrencies for profits. If you wish to learn more about these activities, and also about how to earn BitCoin, check out the pages that follow. Click on the "next" button ...
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