Julie Bang / Investopedia What Is Bitcoin? Bitcoin (BTC) is a cryptocurrency, a virtual currency designed to act as money and a form of payment outside the control of any one person, group, or entity, thus removing the need for third-party involvement in financial transactions. It is rewarded to blockchain miners for the work done
What Is a Bitcoin ATM? A bitcoin ATM is an Internet-connected kiosk that allows customers to purchase bitcoins and/or other cryptocurrencies with deposited cash. A bitcoin ATM is not the same as an automated teller machine (ATM) that allows bank customers to physically withdraw, deposit, or transfer funds in one’s bank account. Rather, bitcoin ATMs
Bitcoin Cash (BCH) is a cryptocurrency that was created and launched to bring decentralization back to cryptocurrency. It is the result of a 2017 Bitcoin “hard fork,” which occurs when an existing blockchain splits into two. Bitcoin Cash allows a greater number of transactions in a single block than Bitcoin, which should lower fees and
What Is Bitcoin Classic? Bitcoin Classic was a proposed hard fork from Bitcoin Core that proposed increasing the maximum size of transaction blocks. Despite early successes, Bitcoin Classic has failed to be widely adopted by the bitcoin community and did not eventually materialize. Instead, Bitcoin Cash was the first successful fork to address larger blocks
What Is a Bitcoin IRA? Bitcoin IRAs allow for investing in various cryptocurrencies using retirement savings. Bitcoin IRAs act as self-directed IRAs provided by a few financial institutions in the U.S. that allow alternative investments for retirement savings. Essentially, an individual can retain other retirement accounts with traditional investments and separately engage in the self-directed option for cryptocurrency investments.
What Is Bitcoin Mining? Bitcoin mining is the process of creating new bitcoin by solving puzzles. It consists of computing systems equipped with specialized chips competing to solve mathematical puzzles. The first bitcoin miner (as these systems are called) to solve the puzzle is rewarded with bitcoin. The mining process also confirms transactions on the
What Is Bitcoin Private (BTCP)? Bitcoin Private is a community-driven cryptocurrency created in March 2018 from a Bitcoin (BTC) and ZClassic (ZCL) hard fork. The founder and principal developer was Rhett Creighton, who also founded ZClassic. The ultimate aim behind launching Bitcoin Private was to combine the inherent privacy-rich features of ZClassic with the flexibility, security, and
What Is Bitcoin Unlimited? Bitcoin Unlimited was a proposed fork from the Bitcoin blockchain after the community began discussing concerns over slow transaction times and rising fees, and that would allow Bitcoin to process more transactions and reduce fees. It would have accomplished this by allowing for an increase in the block size. The fork
What Is a Cryptocurrency Wallet? A cryptocurrency wallet is an application that functions as a wallet for your cryptocurrency. It is called a wallet because it is used similarly to a wallet you put cash and cards in. Instead of holding these physical items, it stores the passkeys you use to sign for your cryptocurrency
What Is a Crypto Whale? A cryptocurrency whale, more commonly called a “crypto whale” or just a “whale,” is a cryptocurrency community term that refers to individuals or entities that hold large amounts of cryptocurrency. Whales hold enough cryptocurrency that they have the potential to manipulate currency valuations. Achieving whale status in the cryptocurrency space is
