Bitcoin: Seven questions and answers on the Internet currency

Bitcoin, which has existed since 2009, has often been in the spotlight in recent years - but mainly due to fraud allegations, exchanges and the suspicion of money laundering and terrorist financing. However, cyber money has enjoyed increasing popularity for several months. The price of a bitcoin has quintupled fivefold since the beginning of the year, reaching a total of about 4500 dollars. What is behind the computer currency?
WHO HAS BITCOIN FOUND?

Bitcoin was developed almost ten years ago by a person or group of persons under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto. The Australian Craig Wright gave himself as the inventor in 2016, however, this has never been confirmed without doubt.

HOW TO PRODUCE BITCOIN?

New bitcoins are generated by so-called mining. Computers calculate complex mathematical algorithms and thereby earn bitcoin. In the beginning, a commercially available PC was sufficient for this, the process is now so complex that only high-performance computers are capable of doing so. The majority of bitcoins are produced in China, among other things because the "digging" of the digital coins eats a lot of current and this is favorable there.

On 1 August, Bitcoin was split into two currencies: Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash. Parallel to this, technical innovations were created by the so-called miners, which increases the speed for producing bitcoin. This had fallen sharply because of the high technical effort.

WHO CONTROLS BITCOIN?

Bitcoin are not regulated by governments, supervisory authorities or central banks. They are controlled by the users and created by them. The exchange rate alone determines supply and demand. The Japanese Bitcoin stock exchange Mt.Gox was responsible for a few years ago. Because they were stolen with a hacker attack bitcoins worth several hundred million dollars, she slipped into 2014 into the bankruptcy.

WHAT DIGITAL CURRENCIES ARE THERE?

According to the website www.coinmarketcap.com, there are currently 850 cryptos with a total market capitalization of 143 billion dollars. Bitcoin alone accounts for about 70 billion dollars, which is by far the most significant. To place two stands Ethereum, then Bitcoin Cash follows with a market capitalization of almost ten billion dollars. Bitcoin is also used by many providers as an entry into other cyclic currencies. This means that if you want to buy Ethereum or Ripple, you must first acquire Bitcoin and exchange it into the desired currency.

WHERE ARE BITCOIN TREATED?

Bitcoin are traded on special online stock exchanges like BitStamp, BitPoint or ItBit. The courses on the various trading platforms differ in part from each other. There is also no generally applicable reference rate. The crypt diet is popular mainly in China. According to stock exchanges, more than 90 per cent of the trade is traded on their platforms.

HOW HAVE THE COURSE DEVELOPED?

The bitcoin hype started at the beginning of 2013 on the stock market BitStamp. At the time, the price rose over the course of twelve months from about 20 to 1200 dollars. By the middle of 2015 he went back to about $ 200. Since then it has been almost uninterrupted. Experts warn, however, of strong fluctuations; in the past, an up and down in the double-digit percentage range in one day was normality.

IS BITCOIN LEGAL?

Yes. Everyone can buy Bitcoin and pay with it. However, they are not a legal means of payment in most of the world. This means that companies and organizations are free to accept the currency. Japan was the cyber currency as the first country in spring as a legal payment.