Everything You Need to Know About Bitcoin

You may not know this, but we’re really excited about the places Bitcoin is going (no, it won’t fall along with Mt. Gox). A few months ago, we kicked off the new year by launching a new site that included Bitcoin integration through Coinbase.

We understand that a lot of people are skeptical about Bitcoin, so to ease their suspicions, we want to make sure people know as much as possible about the cryptocurrency. So, here’s a great infographic by Bitcoin Daily about Bitcoin’s history, how it works, and where it’s going.

Here’s a brief summary:

• Bitcoin is the first decentralized digital currency, meaning it’s not tied to or regulated by any one government. (For now, at least. Many governments want to introduce some sort of regulation.)
• It’s a peer-to-peer system and uses cryptography-based open source software.
• It was introduced in 2008 by someone who goes by the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto.
• The process of introducing new bitcoins to the economy is called mining, just like finding new silver orgold.
• Even though it’s referred to as a digital currency, you can spend Bitcoin both online and offline. At this point, you can buy almost anything you can imagine with it.

Where do you see the future of Bitcoin going?