Monday, May 13, 2013

How does Bitcoin work?

Bitcoin is open-source democracy in action: its users wield the power. All balances and transactions are handled by a connected network of computers like yours. This peer-to-peer system is so efficient that it can support more users than VISA and MasterCard combined.

Because Bitcoin has no central authority, nobody apart from you can control or limit your transactions. With Bitcoin, you are your own boss and your money is always safe.

To be able to use Bitcoin, you need to get a Bitcoin wallet. A wallet is a text address that contains Bitcoins and only you can access. It is like an anonymous bank account. You can create as many different Bitcoin addresses as you want without ever sharing any personal information.

Each Bitcoin wallet has a unique key. These keys are secured with a stronger encryption (SHA-256 and ECDSA) than the one used by the world's foremost banks. This makes Bitcoins safer than any other currency in the world.

Example of a Bitcoin address: 1dice8EMZmqKvrGE4Qc9bUFf9PX3xaYDp

Bitcoin addresses are case-sensitive and created automatically. Don't worry too much about writing one down incorrectly, the chance of a mistyped address being real is more than one in four billion.

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