What is Bitcoin?

 Many of you have heard of such a thing as a Bitcoin. Did  you even know that it cryptocurrency, which you can pay on the web  without the need to pay interest to banks and other usual financial  institutions, as well as that Bitcoins can Maini at home, without  leaving the couch. But let us analyze in detail, how it works in reality.
Introduction
Start, perhaps, is with the basic features. Bitcoin is a peer to peer, decentralized and anonymous cryptocurrency. At  a public Russian language it is translated as follows: all transactions  take place directly between the actors on the principle of p2p  (peering); there is no central authority managing the currency and emission centers such as the central bank (decentralized); all  transactions made from one subject to another place using cryptologic  (encrypted) keys that protect the transfer from the intervention of  third parties (cryptocurrency). 

 Just  want to note that there is a common misconception that Bitcoin - this  is another currency that can be printed in any quantity, if access to  the relevant machine. This is not quite true.
When  the Bitcoin was created, the main idea was not to make paper currency  counterparts, as an analogue of gold - what most of today's money is  confirmed. What distinguishes the gold of dollars, euros, rubles or hryvnia? Gold - a limited resource. Those. Gold can not get more than it is in the nature. Of  course, you can create a little bit of gold, for example, mercury heavy  bombardment by neutrons, but the amount is very meager, and the state  received an unstable isotope. 

 To get the gold, it is necessary to obtain. It takes time, people who are directly that [gold mining] are involved. As  a result, a kilogram of gold produced can be compared to the man-hours  necessary for its production in the future be used as the equivalent of  free labor, ie, currency.
Something similar happens with Bitcoin. The  number of "coins" limited 21 million. When the total amount of Bitcoins  to reach this value any further emission stops to prevent inflation. A Bitcoin mining requires certain costs. If in the case of gold extraction takes human labor, then to mine Bitcoins takes "work" computer.
If  the extraction of gold a person must take the rock, wash it and thus to  separate the gold from the rest, for the mining Bitcoins processor need  to solve a series of math problems. If the result is to meet all the criteria - Bitcoin created. By the way, cryptocurrency production process called "mining".
Materiel
So, what happens during cryptocurrency of mining (by the way, not only the Bitcoin, but also any other)? Miner task is to create a hash (in fact, the number) which satisfies the conventional conditions. This is done brute force, on that and goes all the CPU resources, mining cryptocurrency.
It regulates all such parameters as complexity. To create a unit is considered established, it should have a unique  hash that is less than the maximum possible value minus the complexity.
Once I found the hash (the number obtained at the output of SHA-256 function), meets these criteria - created Bitcoin block. And yes, Bitcoin is produced in blocks, rather than one by one. Initially, in the block 50 Bitcoins, but every 4 years the value of the new unit is halved. On average, the new block is generated every 10 minutes. Now for the unit give 25 Bitcoins.
The difficulty is adjusted every 2016 blocks. If has been expended over the last two weeks at block 2016, the complexity is reduced if less - increases. Thus the time to create a new block is maintained at 10 times per minute.
Transactions
In addition to the hash in Bitcoin block there are a number of properties that describe each transaction, which he passed. Unit example can be found here.
If you want to commit the transaction, ie, to transfer a certain amount of Bitcoins to someone else, then something like this happens. A new transaction, which indicates the recipient's public key and the digital signature of the sender. Also,  all the necessary properties prescribed transaction, such as the number  in and out (of course, they have to be equal), the number of  destinations the transaction and so on. Of course, all protected private encryption keys, driver means safety. 

 When a transaction is created, it is checked for validity network, and then entered into a publicly available list of transactions, access to which can be received by each. Also, each Bitcoin recorded all previous transactions that occurred to him.
How am Main Bitcoin?
Mine Bitcoins can be independently connected to the network and install the appropriate software. You can also buy a separate device that will, for example, connected via USB or independently Main. This is called a solo-Meiningen. 

 solo Mining Who usually unprofitable. Energy costs do not overlap earned Bitcoin, so do not rush to start. Today, there are so-called pools, union miners, who work together to  extract the blocks, and then share the "booty" among themselves.
There are several types of pools, which vary a lot payout rules and internal organization of the work of the participants. If you want to join one of them, carefully examine all the options.
Also get Bitcoins can now be banal buying them on the stock exchange.
How to store Bitcoins?
If  "normal" money everything is clear - you either hold in your hands the  cash or have a bank account, which, if you omit conditionality, stores  and transmits this same the cash for you. With Bitcoins are all slightly different.
In fact, Bitcoin is wallet.dat file, which is a repository for your "coins". Keep it may be in "cold storage", ie not connected to the network and, or on something with which you can manage with the help of special programs. 

 Next to dispose of your Bitcoins, you need to create a user-Bitcoin wallet. This  can be an application installed on your computer or smartofn or  third-party services, which will make it for you on their own servers. Once you have your own wallet, you can generate the currently Bitcoin address. Please be aware that the address is desirable to change every time because it is published in the list of transactions and can popastv hands of third parties. Bitcoin address number is not limited.
result

Today we know in general terms what the Bitcoin and cryptocurrency as a whole. It is worth noting that Bitcoin - is not the only cryptocurrency, but the most popular and expensive at the moment. In  addition, there Litecoin, Dogecoin and others. No one, in fact, does  not prohibit to create, for example, keddrcoin, distribute it and use it  as a currency.