BITCOIN The cryptocurrency star hit all-time high a day after Tesla's shocking announcement. The manufacturer has invested the equivalent of 1.5 billion in bitcoin.
It goes up, it goes up, it goes up. Bitcoin broke the symbolic mark of $ 45,000, an amount it had never reached. At the time of this publication, its price is even approaching $ 47,000. The cryptocurrency star is now valued at $ 860 billion. The hike comes a day after Tesla boss announced that his company had invested the equivalent of 1.5 billion dollars in bitcoin, to "diversify and maximize its return on investment", according to an official document. Elon Musk also indicated that the cryptocurrency star will soon be accepted at Tesla. The American manufacturer is not the first large company to acquire bitcoin. Software publisher MicroStrategy has purchased 70,784 bitcoins, which currently equates to more than $ 3 billion. Jack Dorsey-owned payments company Square also invested the equivalent of $ 50 million in bitcoin in October 2020.
What is bitcoin?
Bitcoin is a virtual currency created in 2009 by an unidentified person whose pseudonym is Satoshi Nakamoto. Unlike conventional currencies (also known as fiat currency), bitcoin is not issued and administered by a banking authority. It is issued on the blockchain protocol of the same name. This technology makes it possible to store and transmit information in a transparent, secure manner and without a central control body. Bitcoin, like many other cryptocurrencies, is put into circulation through mining. “Miners,” people around the world, perform mathematical calculations with their hardware for the bitcoin network to confirm transactions and increase their security. In exchange, they receive bitcoins. They can then be converted into fiat currency or exchanged for other
cryptocurrencies on exchange platforms.
Bitcoin issuance is limited to 21 million units, as provided for in the initial code. This amount should be reached in 2140. At the start of 2018, the number of bitcoin issued passed the 17 million mark, or 80% of the total. Due to the growing difficulty of calculations, bitcoin is being created at a decreasing rate: 12.5 bitcoins every ten minutes today (compared to 50 bitcoins in 2009). Note that the smallest division of bitcoin is satoshi. 1 satoshi = 0.00000001 bitcoin.
Where to buy bitcoins?
Before buying bitcoin, it is important to keep in mind that, as with any assetrisky, you shouldn't invest more than you can afford to lose. There is no such thing as a bitcoin account as there are bank accounts. To get bitcoins, you have to open an account on a crypto-currency exchange platform (there are around a hundred today in the world). In general, it is possible to buy them by card or by bank transfer. In France, there are a handful of players: the exchanges Paymium (bitcoin / euro exchange), Zebitex (multi-crypto / euros), Savitar and the brokers Coinhouse and ZeBitcoin. The latter also has a currency exchange office in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris called "Coinhouse Paris Store" (formerly La Maison du bitcoin). But French citizens can buy bitcoins on foreign platforms, like the American Coinbase which is available in French. Some are more ergonomic than others. Commissions also vary from platform to platform.The bitcoin.fr site regularly updates a ranking of platforms, including listing the number of positive and negative reviews.
How does the bitcoin price work?
There is no official value for bitcoin. This indicator is only an average of bitcoin prices (usually in dollars) across all cryptocurrency exchange platforms around the world. There are several sites that use this method, the most famous of which is CoinmarketCap .
The price of bitcoin is simply governed by the law of supply and demand. Note that it is always difficult to explain why the price increases or decreases suddenly.
Since its creation, the price of bitcoin has experienced great variations. 2017 has been a particularly busy year for the cryptocurrency star. It went from $ 1,000 to $ 19,000 in one year. Its historic level was reached in February 2021, surpassing $ 47,000.
Who owns the most bitcoin?
There are bitcoin billionaires. Due to the volatility of the price, it is therefore difficult to say exactly how much their fortune is in dollars or euros. According to the specialized site Decrypt , the biggest holder of bitcoins is Micree Zhan, the co-founder of the mining giant Bitmain. In the list of crypto-millionaires, we find in particular:
The Winklevoss brothers: founders of the crypto exchange Gemini (also known for their conflict with Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook)
Michaël Saylor: the boss of the software publisher Microstrategy (part of his balance sheet is also in bitcoin)
Changpeng Zhao: CEO of Binance, the largest cryptocurrency trading platform in terms of volume
Tim Draper: investor Tim Draper
Brian Amstrong, CEO of Coinbase, the very popular American crypto exchange.
But the biggest holder of bitcoins would actually be ... Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of bitcoin, who still has not been identified. According to several estimates, he owns 1.1 million bitcoins.
Who uses bitcoin?
Bitcoin is used all over the world. Western countries concentrate a good part of the transactions, mainly in an investment logic. Countries with strong inflation are bitcoin users, like Argentina and Venezuela. However, some countries have banned the buying and selling of bitcoins. This is particularly the case in Pakistan, Algeria, Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia. Since bitcoin cannot really be banned due to its decentralized nature, it is still possible to obtain it, on peer-to-peer sites for example.
Bitcoin price history
The price of bitcoin began to be listed in early 2011, two years after its creation. It is most often expressed in dollars or euros but it can also be found in yen or yuan because Asians are very fond of crypto-currencies. Here is the history of the price of bitcoin in dollars.
Bitcoin is used all over the world. Western countries concentrate a good part of the transactions, mainly in an investment logic. Countries with strong inflation are bitcoin users, like Argentina and Venezuela. However, some countries have banned the buying and selling of bitcoins. This is particularly the case in Pakistan, Algeria, Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia. Since bitcoin cannot really be banned due to its decentralized nature, it is still possible to obtain it, on peer-to-peer sites for example.
Bitcoin price history
The price of bitcoin began to be listed in early 2011, two years after its creation. It is most often expressed in dollars or euros but it can also be found in yen or yuan because Asians are very fond of crypto-currencies. Here is the history of the price of bitcoin in dollars.
Bitcoin Halving
Halving is an event during which the reward of miners who create bitcoin will be halved. This event takes place approximately every four years. The last halving, which dates from May 11, 2020, increased this reward from 12.5 to 6.25. This is the third halving since the creation of the cryptocurrency star in 2009, after those of November 2012 and July 2016. During the next halving, the mining premium will therefore increase to 3.125 bitcoins. And so on ... This scheme will achieve by 2140 the maximum of 21 million bitcoins in circulation, as predicted by Satoshi Nakamoto, anonymous creator of Bitcoin. Today there are 18.3 million bitcoins in circulation. Halving is also synonymous with an increase in the price of bitcoin. It is in any case what is passed for the first two halvings. No wonder, since bitcoin, like many assets, is dependent on supply and demand. And with a falling supply, its price tends to increase. For the third, the pattern was not repeated as bitcoin lost 2% to settle at $ 8,560. It must be said that this halving takes place in a rather particular context linked to the coronavirus epidemic.
