Bitcoin became the first decentralized cryptocurrency in 2009.

What makes it different from normal currency?

Bitcoin can be used to purchase products; so, in that way it is similar to the dollar, the euros, and the yen when those currencies are traded digitally.   One thing that makes bitcoin different is that it is decentralized. No institution controls the bitcoin network. So, people might like this because no large bank controls their transactions.  The Federal Reserve System is the central bank of the United States; hence the term centralized vs the term decentralized.  So, the main difference is that bitcoin is decentralized.

Can you buy items using bitcoin?

The answer is yes you can buy items using bitcoin.  I found a website called Bitcoin Shop where a person can buy items using bitcoin. Bitcoin Shop has a homepage. It appears that Bitcoin Shop accepts other cryptocurrencies also. Another use of Bitcoin is peer-to-peer transfers.  The system is peer-to-peer and transactions take place between users directly without an intermediary.  The transactions are verified by network nodes and recoreded in a public distributed ledger called a blockchain which uses bitcoin as its unit of account.  Individuals can buy products from any individual using bitcoins.

Partial Technical definition of Bitcoin.

Bare with me as I give a partial explanation of bitcoin from a technical standpoint for one paragraph. Bitcoin is a consensus network that enables a new way to settle financial transactions through the use of a completely digital money. The digital currency is created and held electronically.  Bitcoin is cryptocurrency and a payment system invented by an unidentified programmer or group of programmers under the name of Satoshi Nakamoto. Cryptocurrency is a digital asset that works as a intermediary used in trade employing cryptography to secure  the transaction to control the creation of additional units of currency.  Therefore, cryptocurrencies are a subset of digital currencies.  The idea in creating bitcoin was to create a currency independent of any central authority that is transferable electronically instantly with low transaction fees.

The object of this post was only to provide a brief explanation of bitcoin to anyone who wasn’t familiar with bitcoin; so, that the readers of my post would be exposed to the topic if a reader had not already been exposed. I may write future bitcoin post. Feel free to leave a comment or share this post on your social media networks.