The Principles of Kwanzaa and Bitcoin (BTC) – Yolanda C. Rondon
Excerpt from The Market — Family Dinner:
“Bitcoin is money, a digital currency separate from the U.S. Dollar, Euro, Chinese Yen, basically any money printed by the government. Most call it digital money. You can only use the Bitcoin on the blockchain and a few other platforms but that’s okay because this is only part of it. You know.”
Mike says as he wipes the sauce off his face with his napkin.
Lance and Lillian are holding on to his every word.
They are seated at the dining room table, family pictures surround them on the walls, the stone fireplace mantel is the center of the room, not originally part of the house, but passed down from generation to generation.
“The way it works, is people like me agree to share our electricity and computing power to help power the platform that Bitcoin operates on. The platform is called blockchain. The platform can only function with the use of others electricity and computing power because it is the way transactions are verified, commonly referred to as proof of work. Every time I verify a transaction, I earn a Bitcoin or two, but only if I am the first to verify the blockchain transaction.”
“Only if you are first?” Chris asks.
“Yes.” Mike replies.
“Others who may be working to verify don’t get nothing?”
“Correct, but . . . my primary reason is not to make money through mining but increase usage of Bitcoin as major currency, that is how the real value of Bitcoin is made. Increased usage equals increased value. Bitcoin works because there is skin in the game. If there is no skin in the game, would not really work. That is part of what makes Bitcoin unique. It rewards people who are in it, as time goes on, the value goes up.”
“So how much money have you earned? Maybe you can help your favorite cousin out? I mean, share the wealth?” Lance asks.
Mike replies, “It’s not super profitable to mine. I mine because I believe in it.
But I have earned by virtue of increase of value of the Bitcoin I own. At this point you can only use Bitcoin in certain places but that is going to change. I have bought all types of things with Bitcoin. I have purchased baseball cap, a shirt, and my favorite hair gel. For now, you can only purchase things on certain platforms that accept the Bitcoin. But there are a bunch of things you can get, including some food orders, shipping and other services. Soon Bitcoin will be accepted everywhere. You will be able to pay for gas and your phone bill.”
“This sounds cool. I’m sure all the young people think it’s great but let’s back up a little,” said Chris.
Lance sighs, “Ignore this old man right here. Tell us more.”
“Wait a minute. What if you are never able to actually use this Bitcoin in the real world? . . .
Chris is not waiting for an answer. It’s not a question meant to be answered anyway. Chris is thinking out loud.
Clearing the dining table of the plates and utensils, Chris states, “This may be rude, but this just sounds like a big scam. And who is the owner, CEO of this company, where are they registered?”
“Uncle, this is the beauty of the blockchain and Bitcoin. It is entirely secure and independent from any institution. Free from any bureaucracy structure. There is no CEO. There is no registration. It operates only online; it exists only because of the internet.” Mike answers.
Mike expects a response from his uncle Chris, but he does not respond.
Mike continues speaking. “If you can imagine the cells that make up and create your unique DNA as blocks and these blocks are building blocks, where one cannot exist without the other. This is kind of what blockchain technology does, applying the concept to money. Blockchain technology goes even further to verify the transactional history of each transaction and value, to ensure ownership of the crypto. Essentially, each transaction requires verification of where each Bitcoin came from all the way back to its initial creation on the platform and original ownership.”
“Like a history log?” Chris asks.
“Exactly, building the blockchain,” Mike states.
“But banks do this. So why not just continue to use my bank account to make purchases and transfers online?” Chris asks Mike.
“Well for one, we do not even need the banks. Bitcoin is digital cash working on a decentralized peer-to-peer network. There is no central bank and no single administrator. Besides, it’s safer using keys.”
“Keys?” Chris asks.
“Not a physical key. It’s more so like a username, password function. A user gets a public key and a private key. The private key is only known by the particular user in the transaction. But the public key is verifiable through the blockchain. Trust me, no one can hack this to get your private key.” Mike states.
Chris is looking at Mike. Chris states, “You don’t believe me, I can tell. But I will tell you this, not even an infinite supply of electricity and computing power from the entire world would be able to get back to trace the very first original transaction of the Bitcoin, and then hack from the first transaction forward to manipulate ownership of the specific Bitcoin. This is impossible . . .”
Published at Sat, 28 Dec 2019 18:33:51 +0000
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