Bitcoin
 Bitcoin  (technology, cryptocurrency, p2p)   | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Start | 2009-01-03 |
| Abbreviation | BTC |
| Interest of | • Tyler Lindholm • Mircea Popescu • Kenneth Rogoff |
| A cryptocurrency | |
Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency, created by the pseudonymous Satoshi Nagamoto. Its symbol is BTC.
Contents
Design
Bitcoin is designed as a decentralized and uncensorable distributed system, i.e. it stores it's blockchain redundant on every computer running the Bitcoin p2p client. The consensus algorithm in use is proof-of-work. Bitcoin has been criticized for using up too much electricity to power its proof-of-work mining network.
Does it scale?
Bitcoin grew slower with raising numbers of users. A p2p payment took several days to complete in 2020[citation needed], the initial download of the whole blockchain required ~1500 GB of free disk space in 2022 and the time to integrate well into the network was definitely end-user unfriendly.[citation needed] To increase usability the Lightening network was introduced [When?] for instant (micro) payments. Exchanges (super nodes not run by users) took the place of central banks to increase usability, make a profit and enable speculation with Bitcoins.
Pseudonymity
Due to its fully transparent ledger, transactions can be linked to IP addresses. The Bitcoin address (wallet) is therefore pseudonymous - if no additional encryption is used such as Tor and the same wallet is used for more than one transaction.
Use
In cooperation with Visa or Mastercard Bitcoin smartcards (Creditcards) are in use [1] which can be used to pay at hotels and gas stations, for example, in Italy and Austria. However, not Bitcoins are transferred. Traditional banks operating as super nodes convert BTC to EUR or USD and then this monopolized fiat currency is used for the actual payment.
Legal position
NSA
The Intercept reports that already by 2013, the NSA had named Bitcoin as "#1 priority" and was interested in "tracking down" its users.[2]
Legal tender?
Bitcoin is illegal in some countries. WP reports on changing legal status.
In December 2017, Australian banks froze the accounts of bitcoin users.[3] Computers (with wallets) have been seized by US law enforcement.[citation needed] It is rumored that wealthy Chinese buyers used Bitcoin to circumvent capital restrictions by the Chinese government to buy i.e. real estate in the US.
Bitcoin is legal tender in El Salvador from September 2021.
Tax
In 2018, Israel announced an intention to tax Bitcoin.[4]
Speculation
BTC is traded at FOREX and can be hedged in futures contracts. The commercially-controlled media encouraged the general public to invest in BTC ETFs and ETCs before the second BTC bubble burst in January 2022.
Outlook
Increasingly, those who wish to keep their transactions private are turning to privacy coins such as Monero. A market has emerged where companies advertise their law enforcement capabilities. [5] Proof-of-work consensus is getting replaced by proof-of-stake algorithms. Work on the central part of consensus algorithms is in progress.[citation needed]
Related Quotation
| Page | Quote | Author | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whitney Webb | “Bitcoiners should pay close attention to these developments as the DOJ in particular has attempted to paint bitcoin as the payment of choice for well-known terror groups like ISIS and al-Qaida, signaling that the working group proposed by this bill will likely seek to specifically target bitcoin. Adding to this concern is the fact that a slew of recent mainstream media reports — which cite Treasury and FinCEN officials, DOJ officials and CIA analysts — have claimed specifically that “terrorists are turning to bitcoin, and they’re learning fast”, that bitcoin is the “new frontier in terror financing”, and that “bitcoin is helping terrorists secretly fund their deadly attacks”. Even the prominent military think tank RAND Corporation has argued that “bitcoin and the dark web” are the newest terrorist threat.” | Whitney Webb | September 2023 |
Related Documents
| Title | Type | Publication date | Author(s) | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Declaration of Currency Independence | declaration | May 2021 | John McAfee | The main author, John McAfee, died mysteriously in jail the next month. |
| Declaration of Monetary Independence | declaration | 2021 | Mark Maraia Mike Hobart | |
| File:Bitcoin-FBI.pdf | report | 24 April 2012 | FBI/Directorate of Intelligence |
References
- ↑ https://kryptozeitung.com/krypto-bitcoin-kreditkarten/
- ↑ https://theintercept.com/2018/03/20/the-nsa-worked-to-track-down-bitcoin-users-snowden-documents-reveal/
- ↑ http://www.smh.com.au/business/bitcoin-tensions-rise-as-investors-claim-banks-freezing-their-accounts-20171229-p4yy3z.html
- ↑ http://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/02/20/israel_to_tax_cryptocurrency_and_treat_them_as_property/
- ↑ https://www.financemagnates.com/cryptocurrency/news/is-monero-still-a-privacy-coin-ciphertrace-files-2nd-xmr-tracing-patent/
