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Bitcoin

What is Bitcoin?

Bitcoin (BTC) is the world’s first fully “peer-to-peer electronic cash system” and started a revolutionary movement for the top coins that followed such as the Ethereum currency, Ripple (XRP), or Litecoin (LTC). The idea for Bitcoin was first made public in 2008, in a whitepaper publicly released by an anonymous individual/group called “Satoshi Nakamoto”. Until now, no one still knows exactly who Nakamoto is. The coins are generated through a complex process called “mining” wherein powerful computers run specialized programs that verify the transactions running through the network. Bitcoin’s price is often the topic of -- why is it worth so much? The answer is due to multiple factors such as its history, its market capitalization, its features, and what it’s evolved to become. We’ll discuss all of that, as well as Bitcoin’s price in AUD and more.

History

Any Bitcoin analysis wouldn’t be complete if its history isn’t taken into account. Bitcoin is currently enjoying the first-mover advantage, which means it paved the way and worked to earn the general public’s trust. Bitcoin’s price history is littered with extreme drops on the way to its eventual all-time high, and that’s integral to its placement in the world of cryptocurrency.

Here’s a short timeline of Bitcoin’s history:

2008 - "Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System”, a whitepaper detailing the ideas that would serve as the blueprint for Bitcoin, is released by Satoshi Nakamoto.
2009 - The first Bitcoin block is mined; the Bitcoin network goes live.
2010 - The first Bitcoin purchase was made: two pizzas for 10,000 BTC.
2017 - Bitcoin passed the $10,000 mark, then climbed close to around $20,000.
2018 - After the exhilarating highs, Bitcoin holders experienced their first bubble burst. Bitcoin prices dropped to around $6,000.
2020-present - Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Bitcoin prices saw an unprecedented lift, where they rose to more than $60,000.

The Market Cap

Market capitalization, or market cap, is the total circulating supply of crypto, multiplied by its current price. Market Cap is often used to determine the size of a particular currency. BTC practically cost nothing until July 2010, when the prices reached around $1 (around $19M market cap). On July 8, 2011, Bitcoin reached $31.00, (around $97 million market cap) which was followed by a crash. The Bitcoin revolution picked up in the years afterward, sending the prices on a volatile course that culminated to a price of around $19,000 ($300 billion market cap) in December 2017, followed by a historical drop in February 2018, where Bitcoin prices dropped to $6,200 (losing around 50% of its total price in less than 20 days).

On March 13, 2021, Bitcoin hit an all-time high of $61,243 (more than $1 trillion market cap). As more and more institutional investors treat Bitcoin as a hedge against economic fluctuations, Bitcoin’s prices are expected to rise.

BTC Token Security

Bitcoin is designed to have a foolproof transaction verification mechanism, and it’s pretty difficult to upend the blockchain’s default rules. However, how secure your Bitcoins depend on one factor: You.

Cryptocurrency investing entails a lot of personal choices, and keeping them safe is one of them. From the type of wallet that you’ll be using to store your coins, to informing yourself to avoid phishing attempts and cryptocurrency scams, you mainly decide how secure your Bitcoins will be.

The Mt. Gox hack (2017) has proven that even the largest, most trusted platforms can be hacked. The best way to ensure your coins’ security is to do it yourself (through research and a trusty cryptocurrency wallet).

Uniqueness of Bitcoin

Bitcoin is designed to be the world’s first-ever peer-to-peer digital currency. Bitcoin is designed to be:

Decentralized - Bitcoin is designed to be independent of one controlling body, such as a bank, or a government. Thousands of copies of the blockchain exist all over the world, ensuring that Bitcoin belongs to everyone and that it won’t be easily compromised or taken down. Fully electronic and digital - Bitcoin has no physical form. It’s completely digital.
Limited - There can only be 21 million Bitcoins in existence. After that, there won’t be any more, which makes it a scarce and valuable resource.
Permanent and Irreversible - The Bitcoin network is designed to permanently record transactions -- once it’s validated, it cannot be deleted, changed, or reversed.
Counterfeit-proof - Since the transactions are constantly recorded and validated.

Some investors would argue that Bitcoin has deviated from its original design and is now functioning solely as a store of value. If you’re thinking of investing in Bitcoin due to its value, you can track real-time Bitcoin prices in AUD through our handy crypto price tracker.

BTC FAQs

Who Are the Founders of Bitcoin?

Bitcoin was founded by an individual/group under the name “Satoshi Nakamoto''. While there are many speculations regarding Nakamoto’s identity, no one has definitive information on the person/people behind Satoshi Nakamoto’s identity.

Which Bitcoin Exchange Is The Safest?

There’s a long list of Bitcoin exchanges in Australia. Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange is a common go-to option, as well as Coinbase. Swift, Coinspot, and Coinjar are other trustworthy exchanges that will allow you to automatically see, and trade the value of Bitcoin in AUD.

Which Is The Best Bitcoin Wallet?

Depending on your priorities, you can store your Bitcoins securely in a:

Paper wallet - A QR printout of private keys to a Bitcoin wallet. Paper wallets must be kept secure, protected from both damage and theft.
Web wallet - Web wallets are accessible online through apps and browsers. They are easy to use but very susceptible to hacking and phishing.
Desktop wallet - Desktop wallets are software wallets that store your private keys in your hard drive. They are easy to use, and most of them are free. However, desktop wallets are prone to malware and virus attacks; you should also ensure that you’re downloading software from legitimate sources.
Hardware wallet - Hardware wallets are considered to be the most secure type of wallet out there. It protects your key from hacking, attacks, viruses, loss, and theft. However, hardware wallets can be expensive, and certain precautions (such as securing the seed recovery phrase) must be taken to ensure full protection.

These are some of the most common crypto wallet trends in Australia. Choose the best one that suits your purpose and your access preferences/needs.

Are The Transactions of Bitcoin Anonymous?

While the original design of Bitcoin allowed for truly anonymous transactions, some countries (and by extension, exchanges) require identity verification before trading cryptocurrency. This is to avoid criminal transactions being done through the Bitcoin network, which is something that happened during Bitcoin’s first few years. Nowadays, trading through most exchanges requires some sort of verification, so it’s not anonymous.

Can BTC Be Hacked?

The Bitcoin network is designed for resiliency. It is very difficult to hack since transactions are required to be verified continuously. The bigger concern is securing the ownership of one’s coins (see BTC Token Security heading).

What Is The Difference Between Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash?

Bitcoin cash is a hard fork (aka direct branch independent of the original blockchain) of Bitcoin. It was designed to improve Bitcoin’s scalability by increasing the size of the transactions validated for 10 mins from 1MB to around 32MB, making transactions faster. However, considering the current Bitcoin price in AUD and other currencies, Bitcoin Cash is not nearly as valuable as Bitcoin.

Is Bitcoin Illegal Anywhere?

In Australia, Bitcoin is 100% legal. The current state of Bitcoin’s acceptance worldwide is pretty mixed: while it’s legal in most countries, some countries such as China, Taiwan, Nigeria, Canada, and Colombia have imposed a “banking ban” on the currency, meaning transacting with Bitcoin is not recognized.

Is BTC a Good Investment?

The answer depends on whom you ask. A lot of people don’t see Bitcoin as a “legitimate” investment like stocks, due to its volatility. However, as more and more mainstream investors and corporations recognize the value of Bitcoin, the prices are expected to rise. Some people also consider the environmental impact (Bitcoin mining is notorious for its immense carbon footprint), and the fact that Bitcoin is resistant to innovation as factors when deciding whether or not to invest.

Thinking about investing in Bitcoin in Australia? Make sure you do your due diligence and research first. Keep tabs on Bitcoin’s real-time prices through our handy crypto tracker, and check out our blogs for the latest news.

Can I Buy BTC With Paypal?

Yes. As of writing, you can buy, hold, and sell Bitcoin with Paypal. It’s as simple as clicking “Crypto” from Paypal’s user-friendly dashboard and clicking Buy. However, this feature is only available to users in the US.

How Can I Buy Bitcoin With My Credit Card?

The answer depends on the exchange that you’re buying from. Some trading platforms allow users to fund their accounts through bank transfers, while some only allow trade with another digital currency.

Ready to buy, hold, and trade BTC? You can refer to our easy-to-use price chart for BTC’s current price. The tracker conveniently displays other relevant data such as Bitcoin’s market performance, and other real-time exchange rates, and cryptocurrency prices.

The TopCoins offers the latest cryptocurrency news daily. We have year-to-date price trends and analyses written in a language that makes the technical aspects of crypto accessible to everyone. Stay tuned to our blogs!

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