<p>If I had to write an article on Bitcoin, these would be the points I would include:</p>

<p><strong>What is Bitcoin?</strong></p>

<p>Bitcoin essentially is a giant <em>public ledger</em> of addresses and their balances. Users can send money to other users by ordering the network to take some of their balance and assign it to a recipient's address instead. The database is stored on many different computers all over the world and is kept synchronized by packing updates into <em>blocks</em> of transactions transmitted over the network approximately every ten minutes. This also ensures that money can only be spent once.</p>

<p><strong>What's new about that?</strong></p>

<ol>
<li><p>Much like giving cash to another person <em>payments are directly from one address to another without intermediaries</em>. This makes it a much more private payment method than wire or credit card payments.</p></li>
<li><p>Unlike current banking systems Bitcoin is of <em>global scope</em> so that one can send money around the planet with the same effort as paying a person standing next to him. This could be huge for remittances sent back home by itinerant laborers and for international business deals. Today, banking makes it unreasonably hard to move money across borders: It is expensive, unreliable, and fees are often unpredictable.</p></li>
<li><p>Bitcoin uses cryptography to separate your secret that allows you to spend your money (your private key) from an order to spend your money (signed transaction). This is an improvement over credit card payments, where you reveal your name, credit card number and security code in order to make a payment. This means that it prevents many kinds of identity theft and fraud that are possible due to credit card payments.</p></li>
<li><p><em>Nobody can stop you from using it</em>. The Bitcoin network is not centrally organized, so there is nobody that asks you for a credit check to open an account. Anyone, anywhere, anytime with Internet access can start using it. This is unlike payment services such as Pay-Pal which have a history of blocking user accounts for questionable reasons.</p></li>
<li><p><em>The Bitcoin network pays for itself</em>. The Bitcoin protocol follows a schedule that gives out rewards to users that contribute computing power to the network. The computing power is used to validate transactions and to secure the network from hostile take-overs. This doubles as the mechanism to dispense new bitcoins.</p></li>
</ol>

<p><strong>What implications does that have?</strong></p>

<p>Bitcoin could be huge for internet commerce, because it is less traceable, less risky and cheaper than Credit Cards or Pay-Pal. It could be very beneficial for people that regularly have to send money abroad, because it is much faster, cheaper and more reliable than international wire-transfers. It is great for brick-and-mortar shops, because it is cash-less, but much faster and cheaper than Credit Card payments.</p>

<p><strong>Why don't we have it today?</strong></p>

<p>Bitcoin is still an emerging technology, an experiment. There are some issues that remain unsolved such as its price swings and some technological issues with the scalability to cater to a much higher number of transactions. There are ongoing efforts to resolve the technological obstacles, and hopefully, the volatility will decrease with adoption.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-12-24T01:03:18.323Z
2013-12-24T01:03:18.323Z
Murch
<p>I am writing an article on Bitcoin for our high school paper. What points do you think are important to include?</p>

<p>I'm writing this article for a high school paper, so please put it into those terms.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-12-22T18:30:47.537Z
You might want to take a look at this: http://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/q/336/5406
Murch
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-12-23T20:48:49.327Z
@Gracchus It's for high school
okarin
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-12-23T23:26:08.163Z
Is this a school publication as in "an article for the school newspaper" or is this homework?
Murch
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-12-23T23:30:43.353Z
@Gracchus: Actually, the problem with this question is that it is too broad, doesn't show own research, and is primarily a matter of opinion. Also, I don't think it is a good idea to do somebody's homework for them.
Murch
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-12-23T23:36:44.570Z
@Murch This is not my homework. I am simply trying to get to know how bitcoin works for an article I am writing of my own volition, not one I am being forced to write for a class.
okarin
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-12-23T23:53:48.147Z
Alright, that might be an information you want to include in your question (you can edit it to do so). As I pointed out above, there is already a question on "how to concisely explain Bitcoin" which might be of interest. I also like this youtube video to better understand how Bitcoin works: [How Bitcoin works under the hood](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lx9zgZCMqXE).
Murch
<introducing-bitcoin>
Writing an article on Bitcoin for my school paper
okarin
# Writing an article on Bitcoin for my school paper

(Asked by: username_0 on 2013-12-22)

I am writing an article on Bitcoin for our high school paper. What points do you think are important to include?

I'm writing this article for a high school paper, so please put it into those terms.

**Tags:** introducing-bitcoin

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: You might want to take a look at this: http://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/q/336/5406  
> **username_0**: @Gracchus It's for high school  
> **username_1**: Is this a school publication as in "an article for the school newspaper" or is this homework?  
> **username_1**: @Gracchus: Actually, the problem with this question is that it is too broad, doesn't show own research, and is primarily a matter of opinion. Also, I don't think it is a good idea to do somebody's homework for them.  
> **username_0**: @username_1 This is not my homework. I am simply trying to get to know how bitcoin works for an article I am writing of my own volition, not one I am being forced to write for a class.  
> **username_1**: Alright, that might be an information you want to include in your question (you can edit it to do so). As I pointed out above, there is already a question on "how to concisely explain Bitcoin" which might be of interest. I also like this youtube video to better understand how Bitcoin works: [How Bitcoin works under the hood](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lx9zgZCMqXE).  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_1 on 2013-12-24. Score: 0

If I had to write an article on Bitcoin, these would be the points I would include:

**What is Bitcoin?**

Bitcoin essentially is a giant *public ledger* of addresses and their balances. Users can send money to other users by ordering the network to take some of their balance and assign it to a recipient's address instead. The database is stored on many different computers all over the world and is kept synchronized by packing updates into *blocks* of transactions transmitted over the network approximately every ten minutes. This also ensures that money can only be spent once.

**What's new about that?**

1. Much like giving cash to another person *payments are directly from one address to another without intermediaries*. This makes it a much more private payment method than wire or credit card payments.
2. Unlike current banking systems Bitcoin is of *global scope* so that one can send money around the planet with the same effort as paying a person standing next to him. This could be huge for remittances sent back home by itinerant laborers and for international business deals. Today, banking makes it unreasonably hard to move money across borders: It is expensive, unreliable, and fees are often unpredictable.
3. Bitcoin uses cryptography to separate your secret that allows you to spend your money (your private key) from an order to spend your money (signed transaction). This is an improvement over credit card payments, where you reveal your name, credit card number and security code in order to make a payment. This means that it prevents many kinds of identity theft and fraud that are possible due to credit card payments.
4. *Nobody can stop you from using it*. The Bitcoin network is not centrally organized, so there is nobody that asks you for a credit check to open an account. Anyone, anywhere, anytime with Internet access can start using it. This is unlike payment services such as Pay-Pal which have a history of blocking user accounts for questionable reasons.
5. *The Bitcoin network pays for itself*. The Bitcoin protocol follows a schedule that gives out rewards to users that contribute computing power to the network. The computing power is used to validate transactions and to secure the network from hostile take-overs. This doubles as the mechanism to dispense new bitcoins.

**What implications does that have?**

Bitcoin could be huge for internet commerce, because it is less traceable, less risky and cheaper than Credit Cards or Pay-Pal. It could be very beneficial for people that regularly have to send money abroad, because it is much faster, cheaper and more reliable than international wire-transfers. It is great for brick-and-mortar shops, because it is cash-less, but much faster and cheaper than Credit Card payments.

**Why don't we have it today?**

Bitcoin is still an emerging technology, an experiment. There are some issues that remain unsolved such as its price swings and some technological issues with the scalability to cater to a much higher number of transactions. There are ongoing efforts to resolve the technological obstacles, and hopefully, the volatility will decrease with adoption.


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