Bitcoin can be used to build amazing things or just answer common needs.
IconThe simplest of all payment systems
Unless payment needs to be associated with automatic invoices, accepting money is as simple as sending a bitcoin: link or displaying a QR code. This simple setup is within reach of any user and can fulfill the needs of a good range of clients. When done publicly, it is especially suitable for transparent donations and tips.
IconMany third party APIs
There are many third party payment processing services that provide APIs; you don't need to store bitcoins on your server and handle the security that this implies. Additionally, most of these APIs allow you to process invoices and exchange your bitcoins into your local currency at competitive costs.
IconYou can be your own financial system
If you don't use any third party APIs, you can integrate a Bitcoin node directly into your applications, allowing you to become your own bank and payment processor. With all the responsibilities that this implies, you can build amazing systems that process Bitcoin transactions however you would like.
IconBitcoin addresses to track invoices
Bitcoin creates a unique address for each transaction. So if you were to build a payment system associated with an invoice, you simply need to generate and monitor a Bitcoin address for each payment. You should never use the same address for more than one transaction.
IconMost of the security is on client side
Most security is handled by the protocol, eliminating the need for PCI compliance. Fraud prevention can be simplified down to monitoring a single variable: the confirmation score. Beyond that, keeping your bitcoins secure is mainly a matter of securing your wallet and using HTTPS or other secure protocols to send payment requests to customers.
IconNew payment possibilities
Bitcoin allows you to design new and creative online services that couldn't exist before because of financial limitations. This includes tipping systems, automated payment solutions, distributed crowd-funding services, time locked payment management, public asset tracking, low-trust escrow services, micro-payment channels, and more.
The basics for a new user
As a new user, you can get started with Bitcoin without understanding the technical details. Once you have installed a Bitcoin wallet on your computer or mobile phone, it will generate your first Bitcoin address and you can create more whenever you need one. You can disclose your addresses to your friends so that they can pay you or vice versa. In fact, this is pretty similar to how email works, except that Bitcoin addresses should only be used once.
How it is work-
.......................
Bitcoin
Balances - block chain
The block chain is a shared public ledger on which the entire Bitcoin network relies. All confirmed transactions are included in the block chain. This way, Bitcoin wallets can calculate their spendable balance and new transactions can be verified to be spending bitcoins that are actually owned by the spender. The integrity and the chronological order of the block chain are enforced with cryptography.
Transactions - private keys
A transaction is a transfer of value between Bitcoin wallets that gets included in the block chain. Bitcoin wallets keep a secret piece of data called a private key or seed, which is used to sign transactions, providing a mathematical proof that they have come from the owner of the wallet. The signature also prevents the transaction from being altered by anybody once it has been issued. All transactions are broadcast between users and usually begin to be confirmed by the network in the following 10 minutes, through a process called mining.
Processing - mining
Mining is a distributed consensus system that is used to confirm waiting transactions by including them in the block chain. It enforces a chronological order in the block chain, protects the neutrality of the network, and allows different computers to agree on the state of the system. To be confirmed, transactions must be packed in a block that fits very strict cryptographic rules that will be verified by the network. These rules prevent previous blocks from being modified because doing so would invalidate all following blocks. Mining also creates the equivalent of a competitive lottery that prevents any individual from easily adding new blocks consecutively in the block chain. This way, no individuals can control what is included in the block chain or replace parts of the block chain to roll back their own spends.
Going down the rabbit hole
This is only a very short and concise summary of the system. If you want to get into the details,
