Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency and worldwide payment system. It is the first decentralized digital currency, as the system works without a central bank or single administrator. The network is peer-to-peer and transactions take place between users directly, without an intermediary.
These transactions are verified by network nodes through the use of cryptography and recorded in a public distributed ledger called a blockchain. Bitcoin was invented by an unknown person or group of people under the name Satoshi Nakamoto and released as open-source software in 2009.
Bitcoins are created as a reward for a process known as mining. They can be exchanged for other currencies, products, and services. As of February 2015, over 100,000 merchants and vendors accepted bitcoin as payment.
Bitcoin can be purchased in person or online. The most popular way to buy bitcoins is through bitcoin exchanges such as Coinbase or Bitstamp.
When buying bitcoins offline, you should meet up with the seller in person and pay with cash or another form of payment that is agreed upon by both parties. When buying bitcoins online, you will need to create an account with a bitcoin exchange such as Coinbase or Bitstamp.
Once you have set up your account, you will need to fund it with fiat currency (e.g., US dollars) or another cryptocurrency before you can start buying bitcoins.
Once you have found a seller that you want to purchase from, click on the “Buy” button on their profile page. This will take you to a page where you can enter the amount of bitcoin that you want to buy and the payment method that you want to use.
After you have entered this information, click on the “Place Order” button.
If the seller accepts your offer, they will send you a trade request. This request will include all the information that you need to complete the trade, including the bitcoin address that you need to send your payment to and the amount of bitcoin that you are buying.
Once you have reviewed this information, click on the “Accept Offer” button if everything looks correct.
The next step is to send your payment to the bitcoin address that was provided in the trade request. You can do this with a credit/debit card, bank transfer, or another cryptocurrency.
Once your payment has been sent, click on the “I have paid” button on the trade request page.
Once the seller has confirmed that they have received your payment, they will release the bitcoins from escrow and they will be added to your account balance on Coinbase (or Bitstamp). You can now withdraw your bitcoins to an external wallet or spend them online at merchants who accept bitcoin payments!.