Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency, which is a form of digital, private money that works independently of a bank or government. It is a digital token, or virtual currency, as well as the network on which such tokens can be stored and moved. On January 3, 2009, the pseudonymous Nakamoto established Bitcoin with the help of members of a cryptography mailing list.
Basic Terms
- Encryption: Encrypting data means hiding it in such a way that if the user has a password or code, then only that data can be interpreted. Ciphering serves a similar role in cryptography.
- Cryptocurrency: Cryptocurrency is like physical money, is a medium of exchange, although a digital one.
- Wallet: A secure digital wallet used to store, send, and receive digital currencies is known as a crypto wallet.
- Blockchain: Blockchain is a public ledger that is distributed and decentralized. The blockchain is a database that is validated by a large group of people rather than a single authority.
- Nodes: The machines that make up the blockchain network are known as nodes. They are in charge of preserving and disseminating updated copies of the transactions that are carried out in real-time. When a new block is created and added to the general ledger, a copy is sent to all of the network’s nodes.
- Private Key: A wallet ( essentially an address), and a private key are the two entities that are needed to complete a transaction. A private key is a series of random digits that, unlike an address, must be kept private.
- Bid Price: The bid price is the price at which someone is attempting to sell an asset.
- Ask Price: The price at which people are attempting to purchase an asset.
Components Of Bitcoin
There are four basic components of bitcoin;
- Software
- Cryptography
- Hardware
- Miners(Gaming Theory)
1. Software: Bitcoin is, at its heart, a piece of software that defines what a bitcoin is and how it is transmitted. Checking of validity or who is allowed or not allowed to be within bitcoin etc. Type of the regulations of a legitimate bitcoin is established via it. Everything is run by software, which in this case is the bitcoin program. The bitcoin program is always available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
2 Cryptography: Cryptography and bitcoin as a cryptocurrency are at the heart of the software. Bitcoin regulates both the transfer of bitcoin between parties and the production of new bitcoin units using encryption. Bitcoin would not be conceivable without cryptography. So, we’ve established that this software use cryptography to regulate bitcoin transfers across the internet. Cryptography is a mathematical approach that can only be solved by machines, not people. Cryptography is required to safeguard the data.
3. Hardware: Cryptography demands a lot of hardware to run and solve. This gear has been created specifically for mining, i.e. detecting Nonce to validate blocks and hashes. To accomplish a simple activity on the bitcoin blockchain, a lot of CPU power is required. If one tries to mine bitcoin with a smartphone or home computer right now, you’ll lose your computer and rack up a large electric bill.
4. Miners(Gaming Theory): Game theory studies rational decision-making behavior in humans. Game theory allows interactions between two or more players in a system where the participant’s outcome is based on the actions of the others. Every participant’s aim is to maximize his gain. The game theory is used by bitcoin to ensure that rational individuals align their interests in a certain way. They impact the network’s miners’ interactions and behavior in particular.
Miners are individuals who participate in a gaming theory, as bitcoin is essentially a game that is played by miners all over the world. The first component, as mentioned above, is bitcoin software that issues a cryptography challenge every 10 minutes. The cryptography task entails locating a Nonce that will allow the hash of a certain block to be legitimate.