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It is a blend word combining the words “bit”, a binary information unit and “coin”, a currency coin.
Bitcoin is a virtual, universal and autonomous currency used in several blockchain applications. It makes it possible to carry out peer-to-peer transactions worldwide without an intermediary.
How to get bitcoins?
Being autonomous, bitcoin does not need financial institutions to process its flow, nor is there any need for a central bank to create new bitcoins. This currency is, indeed, created by members of the network called miners. The latter verify, using their computers, the validity of the transactions, improving the network safety in return for virtual money.
It is, nonetheless, possible to acquire these currency without being a minor. Online platforms are now available to facilitate the sale of bitcoins in return for currencies having legal tender.
Bitcoin : exchange volume per currency in 2017
The current bitcoin supply is estimated at 16.67 million BTC while the maximum number of units likely to be created is set at 21 million. Nearly 80% of the total number of available units have been already used. Experts believe the currency is poised to sustain deflation.
Bitcoins are stored in a virtual wallet , a software which allows, among others, to interact with the blockchain [4] network in order to send or receive virtual money.
Bitcoin : regulatory status
Bitcoins are not legal tender, evolving outside the realm of a defined regulatory framework. Its circulation in the commercial sphere has not been authorized in most countries. A draft bill has been, nonetheless, submitted on April 1, 2017 in Japan. It recognizes bitcoins and other cryptographic currencies as legal payment modes.
However, several internet sites and stores, especially in the United States, today accept to be paid in bitcoins.