There is a growing debate on the internet that Bitcoin (BTC) is worth more than all the circulating bank notes and coins of countries like United Kingdom, South Korea, Canada and many others regarded as powerful economy-wise.
A finding revealed by a crypto enthusiasts by the name Kevin Rooke indicated that Bitcoin is ahead of this fiat currencies going by the amount of bitcoin in circulation.
At the time of his research, the amount of Bitcoin in circulation was very close to $120 Billion USD. However, due to the market situation, it is now at $109 Billion USD.
He as well backed up his research with these two charts:
Although, his findings were based on data available on Trading economic, the research seems to be a great eye opener for cryptocurrency lovers that the time for mass adoption is on its way, and that Bitcoin is growing despite turbulence and stiff regulatory measures by countries and other law enforcement agencies in the financial sector.
While the findings ignore the funds in electronics, many proponents of this research says those ones not mentioned are not circulation and hence, ignored.
What is Bitcoin?
Bitcoin is a proprietary name that refers to the first encrypted online currency as well as the technology used to operate it. It is a coinage formed from the word ‘bit’ the unit for all online overtures, and ‘coin’ general currency accepted by concerned people.
The cryptocurrency answers to no governing authority; it is run based on peer to peer network which ensures that its database is open to all its users.
The bitcoin user enjoys animosity, and needs no middle man to complete his transactions. Makes his transaction free of tolls! For this reason many trade in it the same way shares are invested in for future purpose. Bitcoin is programmed to allow for amendments on the network.
How did Bitcoin (BTC) come into being?
A decade ago, when Satoshi Namakato meditated on the herculean process involved in electronic payments, he rose to the occasion.
Satoshi Namakato found it rather disturbing and needlessly painstaking that a client choicelessly had to use the service of a ‘trusted third party’ to mitigate double spends. He proposed a technology in the fashion of the peer-to-peer network adopted by recent social media platforms.
The method highlighted to stub out double spends includes timestamping. Timestamps keeps tab of transactions. It involves an hashing protocol invented by Satoshi Namakato.
The hashing protocol makes possible a proof-of-work process that uses cryptography to give an evidence of transactions done on a blockchain. It uses cryptography to represent this. This makes for secure and irreversible transactions.
By the 15th of August 2008, the blockchain pantheons; Neal Kin, Vladimir Oksman and Charles Bry had entered an application for the blockchain encryption patency expected to be published on the 18th of February, 2010).
Three days later, bitcoin had given its first address @ Bitcoin.org. October 31st, 2008 saw the release of the Satoshi Namakato whitepaper. By the 9th of November, 2008, SourceForge, an open source software manager had taken on bitcoin,
Bitcoin (BTC) as cryptocurrency
Mining bitcoin began with satoshi on the 3, January 2009. At that time not too many folks had much faith in the viability of a cryptography based digital currency.
By the 9th of January, developers had begun deliberating the idea; leading to the release of the first bitcoin version.
On the 12th of January, Hal Finney, the first to download the bitcoin software, mined 170 blocks and got a ‘reward’ of 10 bitcoin from Satoshi.
To further strengthen Bitcoin as a means of exchange, New Liberty Standard released the ratio of US$ and bitcoin to be one US $ to 1,309 bitcoin. By the 2nd of December, 2009, another improvement on the bitcoin software had emerged, Version 0.2.
The 2010 bitcoin calendar began on the 6th of February with dollar accepting it has a means of exchange.
Laszlo Hanyecz is acclaimed to be the first man to use bitcoin as a means of exchange. By then, no one knew that $10,000 Bitcoin (BTC) could come be worth so much – valuated at about a $100,000 today. At the time – May 22, 2010, $10,000 bitcoin was equivalent to $40.
In the month of July, bitcoin made quite a number of progress. First, on July 7, 2010, a 3rd version was released. Four days later, Slashdot breaks the ice around bitcoin by acknowledging it on her website; the Bitcoin community takes a leap. The cyberspace soon noted its acceptance of bitcoin as a medium of exchange. By the 17th of July, the first notable bitcoin currency exchange; MtGox, was established.
The following year, the 9th of February makes record for Bitcoin as it is valued at the same rate with USD for the first time.
The exchange was valuated at MtGox to be US$ 1.00/BTC. This again pulls more crowd. On the 27th of March, an exchange for bitcoin and the British currency by the name Britcoin opens. Soon enough more exchanges were open.
WordPress plunges into the bitcoin community by accepting to receive payments in bitcoin using Bitpay, a service provider for crypto payments.
By 2014, PayPal announced its readiness to incorporate Bitcoin as one of its accepted cryptocurrency using Bit pay and other payment processing systems.
Before long, as the bitcoin blockchain gained popularity, demands on bitcoin became more pressing.
The more it’s customers, the more evident the scalability problem; its transactions per second was limited (7 transactions per second), the amount charged for transaction was high and it took a painstaking process to confirm transactions (not lesser than ten minutes). It was proposed that bitcoin block limit be raised to enhance its scalability.
The problem associated with this proffer, was it’s proliferation of the entire bitcoin crypto-system. An increase in block size will necessitate an increase in node operation, becoming exorbitant. It was speculated that as the size of the block was increased, the size of miners would drop; in a way defeating decentralization.
The immediate foreseeable solution was hard fork, By August 1, 2017, Bitcoin underwent a hardfork to accommodate more transactions. The alternative coin was called bitcoin cash.
The two coins were being moderated by the same Bitcoin software. Moreso, regular updates of the Bitcoin software was been made to improve its efficiency.
As time passed by, the soft forking solution started towards a decline. Bitcoin could not continue to split, or raise block limits to make room for more transactions. Also, new cryptocurrencies were emerging; ethereum and ripples were alternative coins introduced into the cryptocurrency world.
In search of effective alternatives, bitcoin partnered with SegWit. SegWit is a network that operates on the existing blockchain to increase transaction capacity through a technology that creates more space on the blockchain.
Improvements on Bitcoin (BTC)
Bitcoin wallets
Bitcoin wallets is an interface that allows you access to your earned bitcoin. It’s like an account for trading in bitcoin. It keeps bitcoin safe and secure. If the bitcoin wallet were viewed as a piggy bank, it would be kept accessible to only its owner by requesting a private key. Bitcoin wallet is a pool from which bitcoin cryptocurrencies can be stored and withdrawn.
Bitcoin wallets are of two forms; the form of an hardware and that of an Internet based tool. Bitcoin hardware wallet requires a connected PC plugging to run. It is recommendable; can be kept by its owner and more secure to operate.
Notable hardware wallets are TREZOR, Keepkey, Ledger Nano S. The Internet based wallet known as the hot wallet is run using secret keys.
They are free but hackable. . The first e -wallet was launched by Bitpay on the 9th of June, 2011. Hal Finney, the first receiver of the bitcoin cryptocurrency, is at present working to design a software that will allow greater security for the Bitcoin wallet.
The question remains whether the software would be capable of putting a stop to the problem of hacking associated with online cryptocurrencies in general.
