Bitcoin is for everyone - Why don’t you get started with Yellow Card
What is Bitcoin?
Bitcoin is a decentralized, peer-to-peer cryptocurrency system designed to allow online users to process transactions through digital units of exchange called Bitcoins (BTC). It is a digital currency created in 2009 by a mysterious figure using the alias Satoshi Nakamoto. It can be used to buy or sell items from people and companies that accept bitcoin as payment, but it differs in several key ways from traditional currencies.
How Bitcoins work?
How bitcoin works could be perceived as complex but it’s not. Each bitcoin is stored in a 'digital wallet' app on a smartphone or computer. Anyone can send bitcoin to your digital wallet, and you can send bitcoin to other people. Every single transaction is recorded in a digital ledger called the blockchain. This makes it possible to record and trace the history of bitcoins to stop people from spending coins they do not own, making copies or deleting transactions to cheat the system.
Source: Instagram
There are three ways people can get bitcoin:
You can buy bitcoins using real money.
You can sell products or services and let people pay you with bitcoin.
Or they can be created through a process called mining.
What’s special about bitcoin?
A key element of bitcoin is its decentralized status, meaning that it is not controlled or regulated by any central authority. This immediately distinguishes it from fiat currencies. Bitcoin payments are processed through a private network of computers linked through a shared ledger. Each transaction is simultaneously recorded in a "blockchain" on each computer that updates and informs all accounts. The blockchain serves as a distributed ledger and obviates the need for any central authority to maintain such records.
What is bitcoin used for?
One of the most well-known uses of cryptocurrency is for sending and receiving payments at low cost and high speed. Also, Bitcoin purchases are discreet. Unless a user voluntarily publishes his bitcoin transactions, his purchases are never associated with his identity just like cash-only purchases and they cannot easily be traced back to him. The anonymous bitcoin address that is generated for user purchases changes with each transaction. This is not to say that bitcoin transactions are truly anonymous or entirely untraceable, but they are much less readily linked to personal identity than some traditional forms of payment.
There’s also the payment system. The bitcoin payment system is purely peer-to-peer, meaning that users can send and receive payments to or from anyone on the network around the world without requiring approval from any external source of authority and because users can send and receive bitcoins with only a smartphone or computer, bitcoin is available to millions of users without access to traditional banking systems, credit cards, and other methods of payment. It can also be used as a hedge against inflation.
Recent activities have shown that Bitcoin is against political instability and social disruption. It has proven to be a financial lifeline during turbulent times.
Bitcoin’s role in the EndSARS protest in Nigeria
The #EndSARS protests which started in October 2020 over police brutality was the first of its kind in Nigeria. With the protests growing organically and quickly across cities all over the country, the need for funds to cover food and water for protesters as well as medical necessities when necessary became clear. Calls for funding through donation drives were answered quickly as Nigerians at home and abroad began sending cash through traditional banks and payment links in a bid to fund what had become the largest protests in about a decade.
It was going according to plan until the morning of Tuesday, October 13, when the payment link for donations was cut. Fundraising for the protest quickly took a turn as protesters and organizers switched to using bitcoin. As a result of this switch, donations could not be cut by a central authority, nor could they be traced to particular individuals or stifled. This essentially shows how much bitcoin has freedom at the center of its innovation.
Bitcoin on Yellow Card
Many of today’s top companies are exploring the use of blockchain technology such as Facebook, American Express, IBM, and many more. The number of companies that will use bitcoin will only increase in years to come and this will benefit several industries and individuals. Fortunately, it’s not too late to get started with bitcoin and you can join the bandwagon with Yellow Card.
Yellow Card is the safest and best way to buy, sell and store bitcoin here in Ghana and other African countries. With multiple payment options, competitive rates, and zero fees, you can buy and sell bitcoin safely and easily on Yellow Card. Sign up with just your name, email address, and phone number to start buying and selling bitcoin on Yellow Card.
Source: YEN.com.gh
