The history of Bitcoin is very important. Learning how crypto currency all began can deepen your understanding on how it works. Understanding how the Blockchain operates and allows society to become decentralized meaning not governed by a central authority can appear very complicated at first. Rest assured that developments are being made to make peer to peer transactions happen with ease.
Imagine in the future sending money to China within seconds. Or knowing the climate and weather before a storm hits. Or trace the food you buy to see what farm it came from. Or that a collectible you’ve purchased is real and not fake. All this is possible with the Blockchain and all these technological advances branched from the Bitcoin family tree.
On January 3, 2009 the mysterious Satoshi Nakamoto mined the genesis block. At that time the block reward was 50 bitcoins, this is the reward for successfully solving blocks honestly. This means that during the mining process there was no fraudulent activity done by the miner. There was no double spending and the proper computing power was used which is called proof of work.
Miners use powerful computer processing to solve mathematical cryptographic operations. Years ago, this could be done from a personal computer but this process isn’t profitable anymore. Today miners use ASIC miner equipment which is solely designed to mine Bitcoin.
There are various risks and rewards involved in mining. Miners must consider a number of factors. One is the electricity to run one of these machines can be very costly, and second the rewards can be sporadic. Miners take this risks in the hopes to earn more Bitcoin and the convert it to real-world currency.
The goal is to compete against other miners to solve complex mathematical problems within the blocks to produce a new Bitcoin. This mining reward happens every four years, and every four years the reward is cut in half. This leads us to the supply of Bitcoin. There will only ever be 21 million Bitcoins!
What does this mean you might ask? Well let’s explain. Within Bitcoins source code there a finite supply that will be produced. As of February 24, 2021, from the 21 million, 18.638 million bitcoins have been mined. This leaves 2.362 million left to enter circulation. Once all the Bitcoins have been mined the miners will more than likely to take advantage of charging fees to process transactions.
Don’t worry about losing out on acquiring any Bitcoin, this process for the final Bitcoin to be mined won’t happen until 2140. Due to supply and demand theory Bitcoin value should increase and has increased since it’s introduction in 2009. The next Bitcoin halving will happen in the year 2024. At that time the reward to the miners who successfully solve blocks will be cut from 6.25 to 3.12 BTC. Holding any percentages of Bitcoin is considered to owning a valuable asset and can be exchanged for real world currency at anytime.
Understanding Crypto Currency can seem overwhelming. Confusion and many questions can arise. You don’t have to feel as though learning about crypto is a complicated process. In fact, it’s very easy and exciting at the same time. Learning the basics and starting off small can be very rewarding.
Getting started with a consultation will begin the process of investing in crypto. You’ll learn the foundation of Bitcoin and Altcoins while gaining a deeper understanding of how the Blockchain plays a major part in our society. We will undercover three cryptos with an in-depth look, educate you on how they work and prepare you for a successful crypto journey.
Today you will find all types of advertisements for the next Bitcoin or the next Altcoin that will show huge gains. This can very tempting but the harsh reality is beware of scams! Getting rich quick comes with an enormous risk. In the crypto world especially because you can lose everything if a coin is delisted and simply disappears. Mwblockchain strives to educate you on how to avoid these pitfalls with honest and transparent education so that you can then make a wise decision.
Initially setting up a crypto account on a exchange can appear complicated but this process can be made very easy with our help. You will need a couple pieces of information to get started which include valid driver’s license or passport and bank account information. This information is necessary because your basically setting up a crypto bank account which allows you to send and receive funds. Limits on how much will be allowed to transact can vary on different exchanges. Some exchanges will only allow a certain amount per day to be deposited in your bank account. Also keep in mind each exchange has their own fees associated with various transactions. That’s how they make their money. It’s all about the fees. It’s no problem to instantly cash money out to your bank account but always keep in mind the fees involved before you confirm a transaction.
Every crypto exchange setup is different. You will notice navigating and making transactions will change when using different exchanges. It will take a complete understanding on how to buy, sell and trade on each exchange. Making a test transaction of a small amount will help you to become at ease with sending and receiving crypto. Once you become comfortable with sending and receiving crypto on your favorite exchanges the process of trading crypto will become like second nature to you. Some will find themselves getting excited from their profits and begin to day trade without even realizing it, which is fine but I recommend sticking with a long term investment strategy. This strategy over time has proven to be much more profitable and less stressful.
Security is another important measure to implement when setting up your account on any exchange. If your using your smart phone our computer you want to definitely setup extra security verification on your accounts. This can be fingerprint, Face ID and two step authentication. I love using two step authentication because it only allows funds to be sent when you provide a unique authentication code. This is an extra layer of security which protects your funds from being sent without your permission. Keep in mind that you also want to download the authentication app on more than one device to ensure that you won’t get lock out of you account if you so happen to lose one device. Another security measure that’s very important when setting up you account is to write down your seed recovery phrase. This is a 12-word backup phrase that is given to you when you setup your crypto wallet. It’s very important to keep this information in a safe place because it’s allows recovery to your crypto wallet. Take this very serious because anyone who gains access to your phrase could steal your funds. So think of a safe place where it can be protected offline like a safety deposit box or personal safe. Writing things down is a very important step because many have lost funds in the past because they’ve forgotten their passwords or lost their list of words to recover their account.
Learning how to send and receive cryptocurrency will become key in your crypto journey. Steps are being put in place to make this easier but for now it takes a certain amount of care because you have to make sure your sending funds to the correct address. Also you have to make sure that your sending crypto to the same type of crypto. IMPORTANT: Sending crypto to the wrong address or to another type of crypto will result in the funds being lost forever. There’s no middleman to help retrieve the funds. You should put a few best practices in place to avoid losing your funds. One is to copy the receiving address and paste it in the send field. It’s also good to double and triple check to make sure the address your sending funds is not only correct but the corresponding crypto matches up. Example: Ethereum to Ethereum address Bitcoin to Bitcoin address. If you make the mistake of sending crypto to an address that’s not the same type of crypto the funds will be irreversible and also lost forever. So it’s very important to double and triple check everything is correct especially when dealing with large amounts. The second method commonly used is to simply scan the QR code which will automatically fill in the crypto address for the funds to be sent to.
Properly setting up your exchange account to send and receive crypto will open you up to the great world of peer to peer transactions that Satoshi Nakamoto created. The possibilities can become endless! You can now transfer crypto to anyone from anywhere in the world, you can make purchases at crypto friendly locations, explore the vast world of smart contracts, load funds on crypto visa credit card and send funds to any crypto exchange you desire.
When sending and receiving crypto you also have to keep in mind the confirmation time. A crypto transaction can go through a number of confirmations by miners to verify the transaction is honest and clear from double spending. The larger the amount the longer it will take to receive the funds. In the meantime you will see the transaction as pending. Then once your transaction has been successfully confirmed the transaction will show as complete. Many go through anxiety during this process because it does take time. Some exchanges can take days to complete a transaction. While others will only take a few minutes or a couple hours. The confirmation times can vary depending on the crypto being sent and the exchange. Once you become comfortable with sending and receiving crypto you will then be able to see first hand how long it takes for a crypto transaction to finalize.
The three main types of crypto wallets are software wallets, hardware wallets and paper wallets. All three are used to store your digital assets but the big difference between the three will be whether the wallet is Hot or Cold. A Hot Wallet is any wallet that has a direct connection to the internet through a smartphone, tablet or computer. On the other hand a Cold wallet is any wallet that has no connection to the internet and is stored on hardware such as a Ledger or Trezor. When selecting a hardware device make sure to check that the crypto you wish to store is compatible with that device. Each hardware device provider has different models so keep this in mind when deciding on which one to buy.
Hot Wallets can be setup easily on an exchange and will hold your digital funds like a bank. An example of this will be Coinbase Wallet which can store you digital funds. Some investors like to take the power out of the exchanges hands and store their digital funds on a Cold Wallet. This means that you don’t plan to do any day trading or collect interest and you want to keep a large amount of crypto in a safe place. Free from the internet and any outside interference. This has its pros and cons. The Pros are that if for some reason an exchange shuts down you will still have access to your funds. The Cons include if you lose that hardware device recovering your funds can be very hard. The same goes for a Paper Wallet. This form of wallet is basically a private key to your funds printed on a piece of paper. If the paper gets damaged or isn’t printed on good quality paper you take the chance of losing your funds. Speaking of losing funds years ago people lost everything trusting in an exchange called Mt. Gox. The exchange disappeared and so did the investors funds. In this particular case a Cold Wallet would have saved them. Times have changed for the better, today this is very unlikely to happen when dealing with the major exchanges. Most (if not all) crypto exchanges have FDIC insured accounts. This should take away a lot the worry when using Hot Wallets but it isn’t a bad idea to store large amounts of crypto on Cold Wallet such as Ledger or Trezor. Take some time to compare and explore the two with the benefits of each.