26/03/2023
Time for some Bitcoin Basics or BTC101!
The 1 US Dollar is made up of 100 US Cents, but a Bitcoin consists of 100,000,000 digital pieces, which are called Satoshis (SUH-tow-sheez). This means that as the value of a Bitcoin goes up, it will still be divisible enough to make smaller purchases.
No more than 21 million Bitcoins can ever exist. This is programmed in the code that runs on all systems within the Bitcoin network.
Bitcoin is earned by “miners” who solve blocks on the blockchain; this is the only way which bitcoin can be created.
Approximately every four years or so, the block reward for these miners who solve a block of the chain is cut by half of its previous value. These so-called ‘halvings’ generally correspond to a rapid growth cycle in the value of Bitcoin compared to other fiat currencies such as the US Dollar, the Euro, or the GB Pound.
Even though they are not shared of a stock, Bitcoin is commonly recognized by the market symbol BTC, just like stocks have a market symbol such as TSLA, GE, GM, or GOOG.
Fiat currencies are named for the fact that they are a currency decreed to be official by the government to which that currency is attached. Fiat literally means ‘by decree’.
Centralized currencies are named for the fact that there is a central body which manages the minting and supply of that currency. For the United States, this is the Federal Reserve (and the US Department of Treasury).
Bitcoin is decentralized, meaning it has no governing body or bureaucracy. It is regulated only by the consensus of every user platform on the network.
If you didn’t know any of these things before now, then you should come to the next meeting and see what else there is to learn!
If you knew the answer to one or more of these things before now, then you should come to the next meeting and see what else there is to learn!