Trying to understand bitcoin

[Big Beef]

Bitcoin seems to be getting bigger in a very fast way! I decided to read about it & learn what I can from their website, but that didn't help much.. so many places have this option of payment now & I've never used it.

The way they explain it, is that when making transactions, it becomes public.. definitely threw me off. It also read that you should never use the same address more than once. They flat out said it is a high risk! I'm sure I will have more questions about it once I read it again..

Please simplify how this works

[Big Beef]

Bump

[Iron Game]

Bitcoin seems to be getting bigger in a very fast way! I decided to read about it & learn what I can from their website, but that didn't help much.. so many places have this option of payment now & I've never used it.

The way they explain it, is that when making transactions, it becomes public.. definitely threw me off. It also read that you should never use the same address more than once. They flat out said it is a high risk! I'm sure I will have more questions about it once I read it again..

Please simplify how this works

Good question. I have done some reading but still don't get it.

[IronJulius]

I know very little about it myself but was told use coinbase and then transfer it to blockchain. It was a hassle at first but now that is simple to use

[noworries301]

Yes if you get it out of the Coinbase wallet it is almost invisible. Also they really aren't looking for the end user in terms of prosecution they are looking for the supplier
If using a wallet directly it can be traced theoretically but very very unlikely other than to try to intercept stuff the end user, us, are not the targets


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[Big Beef]

I know very little about it myself but was told use coinbase and then transfer it to blockchain. It was a hassle at first but now that is simple to use

Sounds like it would be a hassle at first, but people that have used it seem to love it.

[Big Beef]

Yes if you get it out of the Coinbase wallet it is almost invisible. Also they really aren't looking for the end user in terms of prosecution they are looking for the supplier
If using a wallet directly it can be traced theoretically but very very unlikely other than to try to intercept stuff the end user, us, are not the targets


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So just keep it in or transfer it to coinbase before using, to be extra safe? Sounds like one of those things that I need to just try some time to see it for myself. Guess I am more concerned about the risk than anything. I appreciate the honesty of bitcoin website, but when the site reads "it is high risk"... makes me a little paranoid at first lol

[noworries301]

So just keep it in or transfer it to coinbase before using, to be extra safe? Sounds like one of those things that I need to just try some time to see it for myself. Guess I am more concerned about the risk than anything. I appreciate the honesty of bitcoin website, but when the site reads "it is high risk"... makes me a little paranoid at first lol

They also say that to deter certain users. Money launderers specifically


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[beachbody]

I set up a "wallet",(exodus), then I was going to buy bitcoins through a site called Local Bitcoins. The guy wanted me to deposit cash in his bank account and then he would send my bitcoins to my wallet. Then I would transfer the bitcoins to the person I wanted to buy something from. I decided not to use Bitcoin because it just seemed too easy to get ripped off somewhere along the line.
I think it was around 2010 that Bitcoins were selling for 6 cents. Now, the price is around $3000. I think it was way higher than that a couple of years ago. That was a real money making opportunity. Some of the "experts" are predicting that Bitcoin is not going to be around too much longer.

[Big Beef]

I set up a "wallet",(exodus), then I was going to buy bitcoins through a site called Local Bitcoins. The guy wanted me to deposit cash in his bank account and then he would send my bitcoins to my wallet. Then I would transfer the bitcoins to the person I wanted to buy something from. I decided not to use Bitcoin because it just seemed too easy to get ripped off somewhere along the line.
I think it was around 2010 that Bitcoins were selling for 6 cents. Now, the price is around $3000. I think it was way higher than that a couple of years ago. That was a real money making opportunity. Some of the "experts" are predicting that Bitcoin is not going to be around too much longer.

Interesting to think about. Several places I am interested in take bitcoin, but I think I am going to hold off for now. I'll do a little more research & resist the temptation of trying it, at least for the moment.

[Tuffie]

Bitcoin has been falling these pass couple weeks. 3000? Look at it now. 1900USDT for 1BTC. However. The market is highly volatile. So it will go back up, how high? Idunno. It will fall again. How low? Idunno

[Big Beef]

Bitcoin has been falling these pass couple weeks. 3000? Look at it now. 1900USDT for 1BTC. However. The market is highly volatile. So it will go back up, how high? Idunno. It will fall again. How low? Idunno

That's a lot of up & down action. To be a 100% honest, I have been reading how wu has tried to crack down more over time on certain purchases made using them or I would not have even looked into bitcoin. I know it's very rare for a personal user, but I still like to do all my research before I make a choice, if that is going to be my only two options of payment.

[mkdk]

Bitcoin is a currency, a form of electronic currency. Each coin is basically a mathematical equation that has been solved. Each subsequent coin becomes a progressively more difficult equation. They are mined this way. Just another means of exchange. They are also traded against other currencies. Its really just another form of fiat currency. Only real money is gold/silver coins.

[EMW14]

I'm also looking at bitcoin and trying to understand how it works. Despite the various explanations here, I still don't get it.

Very basically, I think I understand it's just a "currency" to transfer dollars (or whatever your local currency is, euros, whatever...) into so that it can be "traded" - used fir purchase, payment, whatever - and then exchanged by the recipient back into "real" money. I guess it's no different than paypal or an electronic transfer... but a few more steps and supposedly anonymous/untraceable.

Somebody please confirm the above for me...

Now, as for how it works: It's "open source"... WTF does that mean?

It's "decentralized", I think I read on their site... I'm not at all clear on where the bitcoins come from. "Mining" mathematical equations as explained above doesn't "explain" it to me at all. If it's "decentralized", who is "making" these bitcoins? Obviously, I still really don't get it at all.

[EMW14]

More specifically, let's say you wanted to make a purchase for, say, $55. The product is offered for sale in USD.

Is it practical to exchange $55 into bitcoin; send it to the recipient; and expect the recipient to be able to exchange the bitcoins I sent back to the specific dollar amount?

If bitcoins are so volatile, what happens if I do the above routine, but by the time the recipient goes to exchange the bitcoins, they're not worth $55? Does the value move that much that quickly??

Also, nowhere on the bitcoin site did I see anything about exchange fees or anything like that... What about that aspect of it? Does the individual supplier of bitcoins determine his own fee, whoever that is?