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Originally Posted by MikkiJayne
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Good one!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Regulus
I know it's open software, but it was created by some individual or group of individuals, right? who use a Japanese sounding name. Anyhow, nobody knows who it was as far as I understand.
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No. It's developed, maintained and tested by a large number programmers and developers from all around the world. The code is available for anyone to examine and all changes to the code have to achieve a certain level of consensus (through user and miner participation/agreement) before they are accepted and deployed on the network. Everything about it is completely transparent (unlike fiat/government-controlled money).
What the unknown individual or group known as Satoshi Nakamoto did was release
this whitepaper, describing (along with code and mathematical examples) how a distributed, decentralised cryptocurrency could work. The identity of this individual or group is no longer relevant though, no more so than an Archimedes' screw requires Archimedes' help for it to work. The whitepaper simply revealed a verifiable solution to a problem.
If you're familiar with the age-old
Byzantine Generals' Problem, you'll know why the release of this whitepaper was such a big deal. In essence, the Byzantine Generals' Problem was a well-known computing analogy (believed for many years to be unsolvable), describing the problem of validating data in a multi-master or distributed/decentralised network in which there is no central or controlling authority. The fact that this whitepaper now proved that there was indeed a solution was huge and it led to the development of Bitcoin and countless more cryptocurrencies and distributed networks such as Ethereum, designed for running Smart Contracts and Distributed Applications (which is another fascinating and world-changing aspect of the technology .... currency is really just the first application).
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Originally Posted by Regulus
It strikes me as very strange when I consider the implications.
Seeing this is so extremely limited. I mean, if the BTC really is supposed to reach such valuations. How does it make sense to have it? It can't be for regular shopping food or clothing etc. Even buying a car would be valued at minute fractions of one BTC.
AND there are billions of people alive, even millions in any given country. So what is it? Is it supposed to replace gold, as a storage of wealth? Thus not destined to be a currency as such?
I apologize if I ask questions that can't be answered, or if I look at this from a faulty perspective.
edit *Like believing it might be a test run for crypto currencies
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The smallest unit of a Bitcoin is known a Satoshi (in honour of the author of the whitepaper). It is 1 x one hundred millionth of a Bitcoin (0.00000001 BTC) and, as I understand it, there's no reason smaller divisions couldn't be created in future if it was deemed necessary (assuming the relevant changes to the code achieved the required level of network consensus). Think of a Bitcoin as a large denomination bank note that can be substituted with lower denomination notes and coins. Most smaller purchase with Bitcoin are done in milli-Bitcoins (mBTC). As the value of Bitcoin increases, we're likely to see prices quoted in micro-Bitcoins instead (uBTC). There's plenty of Bitcoin to go around though and, if prices continue to rise, most people will probably never own a full Bitcoin, just like most people never get to own a million Dollar note.
You need to play with cryptocurrencies a little to really understand why they're such a big deal. It's a fascinating, revolutionary and highly disruptive technology that cannot be ignored. I'd recommend installing a Bitcoin Wallet, such as Electrum and having a play with it. Post one of your Bitcoin receiving addresses and I'll send you a small amount to play with. If you want to understand more, I'd highly recommend watching some of
Andreas Antonopoulos' talks and interviews on YouTube.