Stage 1: Why Bitcoin?
Simply put, Bitcoin is a new form of money that’s completely digital. Here’s why Bitcoin is revolutionary:
Decentralised - Meaning no person, bank, institution or government controls it. Usually to transfer money you would need to go through a bank, or a company like PayPal and they often take a cut of your money. Bitcoin allows you to transfer from one person to another directly with negligible fees.
Counterfeit proof - Bitcoin solves the problem of counterfeit money.
Global - Bitcoin is a universal currency and can be used anywhere in the world. It removes the hassle of transferring between currencies and the fees involved.
Limited Supply - Unlike traditional (fiat) currencies where the government can (and do) print money (making your money worth less) there will only ever be 21 million BTC that will continually increase in value.
Divisible - Regular currencies can only be divided to the nearest pence (2 decimal places). Bitcoin is infinitely divisible. So you can spend any exact quantity you want.
Q: Why wouldn't I just stick with the bank?
A: The old financial institutions are broken, outdated, slower and more expensive. The profits are spent on skyscrapers, bonuses and lawyers. Also they control your money, not you.
Q: Am I too late?
A: By far the most common question we receive. NO you are not too late, currently less than 2% of the world owns bitcoin.
Q: How big can this get?
A: Bitcoin is often described as a digital store of value so it makes sense to look at gold’s market cap to find a long-term target. If bitcoin ever manages to reach gold’s market cap (approximately 8 trillion dollars), the value of a single bitcoin would be worth $380,000. As the Winklevoss twins wrote last year, there is certainly a case to be made for a $500,000 Bitcoin in our lifetimes. If something like this does indeed happen, do you think it matters whether you bought bitcoin at $20,000 or $30,000?
Stage 2: Owning Your First Bitcoin
Now you know how broken the old system is and how good a solution bitcoin is, I’m sure you’re eager to own your first bitcoin… But let’s make sure we understand how to store and use it first!
Crypto is stored in a “wallet”. A wallet is like a bank account, except you have complete control over it. Each Bitcoin wallet has a unique address so you can send money to and from it. Here is an example of what a wallet address may look like:
EorI5ZobC7Fl1WTaOrQQviSWUNIxTmA8bq.
Think of this wallet address as your bank account number. If someone wants to send you bitcoin they would send it to this address.
Anybody who has a private key (or ‘digital signature’) can send bitcoin from that wallet (so keep your private keys safe!) and each bitcoin address has its own private key. Here is an example of what your private key may look like:
UPJP1uoDwpvptl9J2oBccDvHJeSUDQBf9kV6IA72R3gH1YekLIs.
