Bitcoin, created in 2009 by the pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamoto, is a decentralized digital currency that operates on blockchain technology, allowing peer-to-peer transactions without central control. Its advantages include fast international payments and low fees, but drawbacks include high energy consumption for mining and vulnerability to theft and volatility. The cryptocurrency's value has seen wild fluctuations and increased mainstream acceptance, while also facing competition from big tech companies and central banks exploring their own digital currencies.

1. BITCOIN
POOJA AGRAWAL

2. INTRODUCTION
Bitcoin is a digital currency or cryptocurrency which has gained popularity since it
started in 2009. It is owned and controlled by its users, peer to peer and has no central
control like traditional currencies. It is enabled using a technology called Blockchain,
which is a new kind of database or list of encrypted digital blocks linked together in a
secure way. Bitcoin was the first real world application of blockchain

3. WHO CREATED BITCOIN?
Bitcoin is a digital currency that was created in January 2009. It
follows the ideas set out in a whitepaper by the mysterious and
pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamoto. 1 The identity of the person or
persons who created the technology is still a mystery.

4. ADVANTAGE
• International payments are a lot faster than banks
• Fees are low;
• Blockchain — near impossible to hack;
• Decentralized — cannot be shut down at a single point;
• Transparent — you don’t have to trust anyone;
• Anonymous — you don’t need to use your name;
• Powered by the community — the fees are shared instead of going to a single
point (i.e. a bank or PayPal);
• No verification for new users — anyone can use it.

5. DISADVANTAGE
• Mining uses lots of electricity;
• Not as fast as other cryptocurrencies;
• Fees change a lot;
• Anonymous — used for crime;
• Difficult to use — private keys, public keys, etc.

6. Cont.
With its pros and cons, blockchain registers, certifies and imbues
transparency, three basic aspects of a healthy financial system. In combination
with a mobile phone, that represents the opportunity to bancarize two billion
people. – BBVA
In 2021, Blockchain gained much more prominence and an all-time high for
value, with companies such as Tesla investing $1.5 billion in Bitcoin.

7. HISTORY
• Aug. 18, 2008
The domain name bitcoin.org is registered. Today, at least, this domain is "WhoisGuard
Protected," meaning the identity of the person who registered it is not public information.
• Oct. 31, 2008
A person or group using the name Satoshi Nakamoto makes an announcement on the
Cryptography Mailing list at metzdowd.com: "I've been working on a new electronic cash
system that's fully peer-to-peer, with no trusted third party. This now-famous whitepaper
published on bitcoin.org, entitled "Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System," would
become the Magna Carta for how Bitcoin operates today.

8. Cont..
• Jan. 3, 2009
The first Bitcoin block is mined, Block 0. This is also known
as the "genesis block" and contains the text: "The Times
03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for
banks," perhaps as proof that the block was mined on or
after that date, and perhaps also as relevant political
commentary.6
• Jan. 8, 2009
The first version of the bitcoin software is announced on the
Cryptography Mailing list.
• Jan. 9, 2009
Block 1 is mined, and bitcoin mining commences in earnest.

9. HOW BITCOIN WORK?
• Each Bitcoin is basically a computer file which is stored in a 'digital wallet' app on a
smartphone or computer.
• People can send Bitcoins (or part of one) to your digital wallet, and you can send
Bitcoins to other people.
• Every single transaction is recorded in a public list called the blockchain.
• This makes it possible to trace the history of Bitcoins to stop people from spending
coins they do not own, making copies or undo-ing transactions.

10. HOW CAN PEOPLE BUY BITCOIN?
• Broker Exchanges
• P2P (Peer-to-Peer) Exchanges
• Bitcoin ATMs

11. HOW PEOPLE GET BITCOIN?
There are three main ways people get Bitcoins.
• You can buy Bitcoins using 'real' money.
• You can sell things and let people pay you with Bitcoins.
• Or they can be created using a computer.

12. HOW ARE NEW BITCOINS CREATED?
• In order for the Bitcoin system to work, people can make their computer process
transactions for everybody.
• The computers are made to work out incredibly difficult sums. Occasionally they
are rewarded with a Bitcoin for the owner to keep.
• People set up powerful computers just to try and get Bitcoins. This is called mining.
• But the sums are becoming more and more difficult to stop too many Bitcoins
being generated.
• If you started mining now it could be years before you got a single Bitcoin.
• You could end up spending more money on electricity for your computer than the
Bitcoin would be worth.

13. WHY ARE BITCOINS VALUABLE?
• There are lots of things other than money which we consider valuable like gold and
diamonds. The Aztecs used cocoa beans as money!
• Bitcoins are valuable because people are willing to exchange them for real goods
and services, and even cash.

14. WHY DO PEOPLE WANT BITCOIN?
• Some people like the fact that Bitcoin is not controlled by the government or
banks.
• People can also spend their Bitcoins fairly anonymously. Although all transactions
are recorded, nobody would know which 'account number' was yours unless you
told them.
• In an online chat with social media users in January 2021, the world's richest man,
Elon Musk, said he was a big supporter of Bitcoin.
• He even went as far as to change his Twitter bio to "#bitcoin".
• He has repeatedly shown his support to online currencies in recent years and
caused major movements in their values due to his own personal wealth and
influence.
• This particular endorsement led to the value of Bitcoin to rise significantly.

15. IS SECURE
• Every transaction is recorded publicly so it's very difficult to copy Bitcoins, make
fake ones or spend ones you don't own.
• It is possible to lose your Bitcoin wallet or delete your Bitcoins and lose them
forever. There have also been thefts from websites that let you store your Bitcoins
remotely.
• The value of Bitcoins has gone up and down over the years since it was created in
2009 and some people don't think it's safe to turn your 'real' money into Bitcoins.
• This concern was expressed by the head of The Bank of England, Andrew Bailey, in
October 2020.
• He said that he was "very nervous" about people using Bitcoin for payments
pointing out that investors should realise its price is extremely volatile.
• By this, he meant that the value could drop significantly at any moment and
investors could lose a lot of money.

16. HOW CAN WE MAKE MONEY WITH BITCOIN ?
• Earn from bitcoin trading – yes, trading of bitcoin is the most popular and easy way to
generate income with bitcoin. What investors only have to know is they should acquire
enough information about everything related to bitcoin like news, price changes to make the
right decisions. After then, you need to pick the right platform or bitcoin exchange to start
trading. Firstly, you need to buy bitcoin from a reputed platform or exchange when its price is
low. Then, you need to wait for the right time and sell them when the price rises. In the same
way, bitcoin investors make money by margins. One of the best trading platforms is Push
Money App, as here, one can get better services.
• Lending Bitcoin to earn interest – those who want to know a simple way to earn money then
they should lend them on many platforms or give it to someone to earn interest. Bitcoin
investors have to charge interest rates accordingly when giving it to someone. By doing so,
they easily earn good interest till they lend bitcoin. Also, they should make the right decision
to lend bitcoin in the short and long-term.

17. CONT.
• Bitcoin mining – here comes the next major way to earn good money with bitcoin
in the current year. Bitcoin investors only have to know the process of mining and
then start performing it to get chances of making money accordingly. It’s a process
of solving problems or calculations with high-powered computers. After solving the
computational math problems, they generate a bitcoin. Miners who solve the
puzzle quickly are awarded money or rewards
• Bitcoin faucet websites – there are hundreds of faucet websites present by which
people can earn good money. They simply have to choose the best bitcoin faucet
website and perform all tasks regularly provided to them to earn money or bitcoin
in points. The tasks provided by these faucet websites are small surveys, Pay to
Click, Captcha, and many others like the same..

18. The 2017 Bitcoin Rush

19. The chart above says it all. One year ago as of the time of writing, the price of bitcoin
traded between $930 and $978 – movements that perhaps set the stage for the
cryptocurrency’s value to cross the $1,000 on New Year’s Day. Indeed, that headline-
making development would be the first of many to come for 2017.In this article, we
look at some of the major moments for bitcoin’s price during the last 12 months, a
period of time that saw the price of bitcoin climb from below $1,000 to nearly $20,000
on the CoinDesk Bitcoin Price Index (BPI).It was a year that arguably exceeded last
year’s bullish predictions and one that saw unprecedented interest coming from
places – particularly in the finance industry – that some may not have imagined
possible just 12 months ago. The PBOC impact while January started off with bitcoin
price fireworks, that month would also see one of the defining regulatory moments of
2017: an initial move by the People’s Bank of China, the country’s central bank, to
tighten its oversight of the country’s then-dominant bitcoin exchanges.
CONT..

20. BITCOIN’S RECORD PRICE SURGE OF 2017 WAS
CAUSED BY A SINGLE PERSON, STUDY CLAIM

21. CONT.
• Bitcoin's dramatic price surge in 2017 that saw it reach record highs was caused by
a single cryptocurrency trader, according to a new study.University of Texas
Professor John Griffin and Ohio State Assistant Professor Amin Shams claim their
latest research of bitcoin transactions between March 2017 and March 2018 shows
that bitcoin was manipulated through large-volume trades that drove the price up.
• In the wake of its record price high in 2017, which saw it reach close to $20,000,
bitcoin experienced a series of crashes throughout 2018 that saw its value
eventually drop below $4,000.
• This year bitcoin's price has risen steadily and it is currently trading at around
$9,300, having briefly reached above $12,000 in June. It remains prone to sudden
swings in price, which some attribute to market manipulation by so-called bitcoin
whales that are able to influence the price through a single trade.

22. BITCOIN FUTURE PREDICTION
• This year has been a wild ride for anyone invested in, or even just watching, the
bitcoin market. The world's most valuable virtual currency in December traded at
more than $23,000.When the U.S. first began grappling with Covid-19 in early
March, Bitcoin was below $4,000. For owners or sellers, it's a gut-twisting source
of gains and losses. For those (like me) on the sidelines, it's an entertaining market
show, with tinges of jealousy and dizziness.
• Despite that tremendous bitcoin price fluctuation — in a generally upward
direction — 2020 was also a year of relative maturity for a currency that, after all,
has only been trading for a decade. From my perch as editor of FIN, a fintech
newsletter, here are what I see as the crucial bitcoin trends in 2021:

23. CONT..
• More mainstream acceptance
Bitcoin's use in everyday life has always had a chicken-egg problem: Very few use or
accept it because for one thing, very few use or accept it.But 2020 saw a striking
evolution in bitcoin adaptation. Prominent fintech companies, from Square's
investment of $50 million in bitcoin to PayPal allowing its users to buy and sell bitcoin,
gave it a stamp of approval. In 2021, we'll likely see an extension of this mainstream
embrace. Look for at least one major U.S. or European bank to announce some kind of
system where they either enable bitcoin purchases or agree to hold digital assets for
their clients.

24. CONT..
• Competition from Big Tech
Whatever bitcoin may or not have accomplished in its decade of existence, it has
forced a lot of big, global entities to think about offering an international digital
currency. Every company involved in the payment space understands not only that
there is a market for digital payments still up for grabs, but that payments involving
different currency markets have the most potential. That's because currently such
transactions can take days to resolve, and often involve hefty fees.Bitcoin has
demonstrated, if embryonically, that a global digital currency can dramatically
streamline that process. This year, both Facebook and Google — companies with a
massive global reach that bitcoin can only dream of — moved forward with big digital
currency plans.T ech offerings like Facebook's Diem aren't exactly the same as bitcoin,
but if they start to catch on in 2021, they may eat a little into bitcoin's growth.

25. CONT..
• Competition from central banks
This year, the Bank for International Settlements issued a report and survey
indicating that 80% of the world's central banks are working on some form of
digital currency.

26. THE END