Description
Bitcoin today is like email in the early 90’s – and it has the potential to be as much a part of our life in the future as email is today. Since its origin in 2008, its popularity has exploded. Now economists, venture capitalists, financial executives, and even some politicians are embracing what a few years ago was a fringe interest of a handful of technical hobbyists. Nevertheless most “regular” people have no idea what Bitcoin is, even if they’ve heard of it. They might have some vague impressions – “Isn’t that like Internet money?” or “Don’t people buy drugs with that?” – but they don’t really understand Bitcoin, or why anyone would be interested in using it, or how to use it themselves.
That is the purpose of this book. If you are one of those “regular” people who is interested in Bitcoin but doesn’t know where to start, then Bitcoin Basics: 101 Questions and Answers will help you navigate this quickly developing technology.
Perhaps you’re already familiar with Bitcoin. If you bring up Bitcoin to a friend, and he gives you a quizzical look, hand him this book. If you mention Bitcoin at your family Thanksgiving dinner, and your cousin says, “I don’t really understand that,” send her a copy of this book.
Although Bitcoin Basics: 101 Questions and Answers explains the technical and economic ideas behind Bitcoin, it is intended for the non-technician, the non-economist. Anyone who knows how to use email and how to pay for something online with a credit card can read this book profitably. Some parts of the book cover the more practical aspects of Bitcoin – how to spend and receive it, how to store it, etc. – and other parts explain the reasons behind the creation of Bitcoin and the problems it is intended to solve. You only need to know the former to use Bitcoin, but knowing the latter can give you a leg up in becoming knowledgeable about this new and exciting phenomenon.
No one knows the future of Bitcoin, but it has the potential to do for money what the Internet has done for communications. And if this happens, everyone will need to understand at least the basics of Bitcoin. This little book will help you do that.
The table of contents gives a general layout of the topics covered:
- Bitcoin Basics
- Bitcoin as a Payment Network
- Bitcoin as Currency
- Ownership of Bitcoin Network
- Technological Advantages of Bitcoin
- Economic Advantages of Bitcoin
- Using Bitcoin
- Cost of Using Bitcoin
- Bitcoin Mining
- Anonymity of Using Bitcoin
- Security of Bitcoin
- Value of Bitcoin
- Objections to Bitcoin
- The Future of Bitcoin
It is my hope that Bitcoin Basics: 101 Questions and Answers will make the sometimes-confusing subject of Bitcoin more accessible to everyone.
