Bitcoin mining is the energy-intensive process that both creates new coins and maintains a log of all transactions performed on the bitcoin network since its inception. Bitcoin miners take real world energy (stranded and renewable) and convert it into monetary energy that will outlive your grandchildren. The more energy used by bitcoin miners, the more secure and unhackable the network becomes.
The protocol has a fixed supply schedule that releases 6.25 coins into the network approximately every 10 minutes. In 2024, supply issuance will be halved to 3,125 coins every 10 minutes.
Every time a Bitcoin transaction is made, it is recorded in the next block. Once the block is confirmed and added to the blockchain, it can never be deleted.
Who Uses Bitcoin?
More and more people are using Bitcoin. It is estimated that in the first half of 2021, the number of people using Bitcoin grew by just under 165 per minute (“How fast is Bitcoin growing?”). There are a lot of people and a lot of growth.
Bitcoin is the first and only digital asset to be named legal tender by a nation state. Bitcoin is the first and only asset in history to be named a primary treasury reserve asset by a Fortune 500 company, Microstrategy, an intelligence software company.
Here’s what their CEO, Michael Saylor, had to say about it:
“We converted our balance sheet from a depreciating asset to an appreciating one. So we have two businesses. One is the enterprise software business and the other is the digital real estate business. So why did we do that? Defensively, I don’t want to lose money or destroy the value of the company. Wealth is broken. Step two is opportunistic, we can buy high quality real estate. Digital real estate is better than analog real estate. Step three is strategic. It’s a good idea to buy up cyber Manhattan before everyone else moves here. If bitcoin increases by 100 % per year and I can borrow fiat at 5%, my arbitrage is 95%. Why would I NOT do that?”
There is a lot of negativity about Bitcoin in the press
If we look back in history, it has been quite rare that a king has been dethroned by a newcomer without a bit of a fight. The fiat banking system has been king almost since it was invented by the Medici. It will not go quietly. The Fiat system has been able to dictate the terms and its employees profit massively from doing so. Until that is, until Bitcoin came along, the upstart King Arthur who, against all odds, has pulled the sword from the stone. And do the central banks and the authorities like it? They don’t.
It is a key reason why central bankers attack and spread falsehoods about bitcoin.
What are those lies? It is not supported by anything. It wastes energy. It is fleeting. It is controlled by billionaires. It has no practical uses. It is primarily used by criminals and terrorists. It’s a Ponzi scheme.
Garbage. Bitcoin has the potential to disrupt the current status quo – which is why it is so maligned by those currently holding the microphone.
You can buy a fraction of a Bitcoin
Sure, most of us don’t have 20,000 odd dollars just lying around that we can spare to buy a whole Bitcoin. A Bitcoin is divided into one hundred million Satoshis – which means that you can invest $10 in Bitcoin as an initial investment, should you wish to.
“Bitcoin is our peaceful weapon against central bank-driven time theft.” -Ross Stevens
“Bitcoin is a currency for the people backed by the people.” — Sylvain Laurel
This is a guest post by Mark Maraia and Holly Young. Opinions expressed are entirely their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.