Bitcoin has changed a huge part of our lives, but at the same time, it has changed nothing. If you are interested in finding out more about how Bitcoin has changed the world then simply take a look below.
A Global Phenomenon
In this day and age, it is incredibly safe to say that Bitcoin is a global phenomenon. Individual Bitcoins are able to sell for thousands but the price has dropped a lot since it was at $20,000 in December. You have to remember that at the start of 2017, Bitcoin sold for around $1,000 a coin. Hordes of other currencies have been launched but none of them have attracted the same interest from users. Now, when you play slots online, you will find that you can use cryptocurrency as a payment method and this is incredible to say the least.
How it All Started
Bitcoin all started with the white paper. Of course, when Nakamoto chose to publish the paper, a lot of the concepts for Bitcoin existed already. This includes the idea of issuing money to those who have devoted computing resources to a specific problem. Emin Gun Sirer is a computer scientist professor at Cornell University and he has stated that Nakamoto has had a major breakthrough as a way to ensure that users are able to trust one another.
All About the Blockchain
Bitcoin relies on a LEDGER which is known as the blockchain. Every single transaction is signed and then recorded in the blockchain. This is then distributed to every single participant in the Bitcoin network. This stops anyone from spending their coins too much. Of course, it is very difficult, if not impossible to tamper with a ledger. Anyone can download the Bitcoin software and they can also participate in the network too. There are absolutely no corporations that control the network. Building a cryptocurrency system without the need for a gatekeeper was a problem but it was solved when everything moved to a decentralised network.
Bitcoin’s Success and Failure
When you look at all Bitcoin’s success, you will soon see that it has not actually been able to live up to Nakamoto’s dream. He wanted a cryptocurrency that was suitable for being used for day to day transactions, but it remained to be a medium for spectators. In part, it has been estimated that Bitcoin is able to process around 3 transactions every second, but this is a poor showing when you compare it to the Visa’s ability to handle around 3500 transactions per second. Other problems have also emerged as the result of Bitcoin, including a higher carbon footprint. This is stopping it from being the huge currency that it was born to be and it is also making it much more difficult for it to become a hugely adopted phenomenon. That being said, it has come such a huge way and it is fantastic to see how much progress has been made.
