Bitcoins
Sayli Uttarwar, TE IT
If you are an ardent fan of Game of Thrones, as I am, you would know that in July, a hacker group allegedly known as Mr. Smith created quite a havoc for HBO by releasing private HBO data online, including the scripts of the upcoming GOT episodes. The hackers sent HBO on a hunt for a hefty load of bitcoin by demanding $ 250,000 worth of bitcoins as a ransom in order to stop releasing private HBO data. We all have heard about bitcoins, but what are they in real sense? And why is everyone so crazy about them? Let’ s see.
1. Cryptocurrency Bitcoin is a system based on ownership and no one can censor it , no one can seize it , no one can freeze it. It’ s a digital currency which means it only exists electronically. It isn’ t attached to a state or government , so it doesn’ t have a central issuing authority. There’ s no one making decisions on how to regulate the flow of bitcoins or investigate any fraud. Bitcoin exists because of a network of people called the cryptographers. In fact bitcoin is termed as world’ s first cryptocurrency.
2. Blockchain Bitcoin is a fully digital currency and you can exchange bitcoins between computers in a worldwide network from one computer to another directly. It’ s the same as you use peer-to-peer network to download your favorite movies, music, etc. But then what’ s stopping anyone from making a bunch of counterfeit copies of bitcoins and becoming fabulously wealthy ? But unlike an mp3 or a video file , bitcoin isn’ t a string of data that can be duplicated . A bitcoin is actually an entry on a huge , global ledger called the blockchain . A blockchain records every bitcoin transaction that has ever happened. So sending bitcoins means that a new transaction is recorded onto the blockchain. This blockchain is not centralized , i. e. its not kept and maintained by a single person / organization. In fact anybody can volunteer to keep the blockchain up to date with all the new transactions irrespective of their physical location. And a ton of people do. It all works out because there are a lot of people keeping track of the same thing , to make sure all transactions are accurate.
3. How it works Whenever you need to make a transfer over the bitcoin network , you announce a few things to the whole network, them being : a. Your account number b. The account number of the person you are sending bitcoins to