A Bitcoin (from now, BTC) is a currency like any other, as one US dollar (USD, $) or Euro (EUR, €). the main difference is that a Bitcoin (BTC) does not exist physically, but is an intricate mixture of asymmetric digital certificates and digital signatures which validate that BTC or a fraction of BTC.
In all, a BTC or a fraction of BTC, is expressed by a string of bits, identifying inter alia the currency, the trust chain composed of digital signatures generation that currency, the holder, and the chain confidence composed of more firms give guarantee to the transaction.
This string of bits is NOT DUPLICATE, that is, you can not 'multiply your money' by simply copying the string of bits, because the other nodes BitCoins, check that do not do 'double spending' (in the original, 'double spending') using more than once this string of bits.
This, at first glance seems very complicated, is not much more complicated than real money, where the issuer is a central bank, and the 'signatures' which validate that money are watermarks, serial number, indelible ink, the ink visible only under ultraviolet light and other security mechanisms used in common use a ticket.
So, with what to stay it is that a transaction BTCs is a string of bits that make validates a certain amount of money in the hands of a certain holder, like a ticket becomes valid a certain amount of money hands of a certain owner.
2) As BitCoins are used
is that the most serious obvious question 'as BTCs are achieved', but we'll leave for later, let it simple: suppose that we have a certain number of BTCs and we use How we do it ?
First, let's talk about the wallets (the original 'wallets'). Any amount of currency BTC is stored in a 'wallet' or wallet, ie that the certificates do I validate that currency BTC (the string of bits) are associated with a certificate wallet, thus taking possession, wallet, such BTCs. As in the real world, you can have all wallets (or wallets) you want, you just have to generate them . Billfolds generate poses no cost, and you can generate ALL YOU WANT. Simply, at some point, when you want to send BTCs someone, you should not ask your username, but that number of wallet wants to send it . BTCs your wallet with your signature fima new wallet, and thus, these BTCs that were yours principle, are no longer yours to be another wallet.
This is very important because in the trading system Bitcoin no transactions between people are, but between WALLETS, making this system completely anonymous. Anyone can have all you want and wallets when you meet new money in that wallet You may not know who sent you, just is there. Thus the form that is used to identify who you pay is 'create new wallets per transaction'. Once you receive a payment in that wallet, you give accordance to the purchase, and transferring the BTCs of such 'temporary' wallet to your main wallet.
Thus, let's talk about the wallets. There are two ways to own wallets:
2.1) Using the official Bitcoin client
The easiest way is to use a BitCoin client on your computer, which is nothing more than an application that is downloaded from the official website ( http: //www.bitcoin .org / ) and would be the closest thing to a 'portfolio' that you can have. Thus, money BTC as 'physically possess'. The string of bits representing the BTCs we have is stored locally on your hard drive within Bitcoin application, and can send those who want BTCs through a 'ID wallet' destination. This is important: if we have a significant amount of BTCs in our official client BitCoin (ie the BTCs on your computer) and we are Casca hard drive or we hack the ordeandor HAVE LOST THOSE BTCs, we have lost that money. I is analogous to losing a wallet on the street or you between a thief in the house and steal his wallet.
2.2) using a web storage service BitCoin
Since the official Bitcoin client suffers from the problem of 'loss' of BTCs to accidents, you usually use any Web service 'stock BTCs', which in the real world are called 'Banks'. The most popular is MyBitcoin ( https://www.mybitcoin.com/). In fact, in the real world, very few people use the official client BitCoin and prefer to use the web service MyBitcoin because the web service MyBitcoin can ride 'shops' that charge style PayPal, entirely through web, whereas if you use the official client BitCoin you should do some kind of interface that automatically generate billfolds for each payment.
In short, you can use both the official client BitCoin as MyBitcoin Web platform. I've used both and at the moment I prefer the web platform, but also I have many BTCs generated ( so far I have 0.60 BTCs).
3) As BitCoins win
the classic way to win BTCs is the obvious: buying them . You get into some market exchange, such as bitcoincomes ( http://www.bitcoin.com.es/ ) Spanish - speaking and working exclusively in Euros, or one more famous internationally, could almost say that the 'official' as is MtGox ( https://mtgox.com/ ). Euros or Dollars paid either by bank transfer or PayPal, and get Bitcoins in a wallet ..
The other way is mining Bitcoin (the English, 'bitcoin mining'). Mining bitcoin works as follows: A 'challenge' (the English 'challenge'), and the first to find a SHA256 hash such that when marrying the challenge with the hash generate another hash searched is generated, earn 50 BTCs.
To put it another way, 50BTCs are signed with a hash, and hash said first burst, can appropriate the 50BTCs obviously signing them with a strong asymmetric signature (theoretically impossible to break before a million years).
The first Hashes were relatively simple to burst, in fact, remember read somewhere that the package 1000 50BTCs (50,000 BTCs outstanding at the time of writing no means of BTCs 6 million outstanding) was broken in less half day on a Pentium 4.
you can use the official Bitcoin client for mining of BTCs, but today nobody does, because currently the Hashes are very difficult to break for one person. An 8 - core XEON working entirely on solving a hash It would take more than 6 months on average. So they have imposed what are called 'pools miners' (the English 'mining pools'), but rather as quedaria 'unions miners'.
Mining guilds (the English adapted 'mining pools') are groups of miners who decide to work together to solve a hash to avoid duplication of work, promising equitably share the prize according to the effort of each. There are several associations of miners, although the most famous is the 'slush mining pool' ( http://mining.bitcoin.cz/ ) administered by one 'slush'.
The owner or organizer of the guild of miners usually receives some sort of 'canon' to have the union working for administrative tasks , and pure maintenance structure. There are also unions of miners who give more of the block 50BTCs who get the resolution. Each guild has its own rules.
Also, since the CPU to calculate hashes is very expensive, they are beginning to use specific mining programs that use the GPU (graphics card) to dramatically accelerate these calculations. Dramatically and I come to refer to an nVidia GT240 can calculate 22Mhash / s, while a Phenom X3 barely reaches 5Mhash / s. queens in this regard are the HD6xxx ATI, arriving hands down the 400Mhash / s. There auntenticos 'blown away' with several machines with 3 ATI HD6xxx, sapping at a rate of 30Ghash / s earning about 8-10BTCs DIARIES (which at current exchange rates , I guess the guy is entering $ 150 / day, so if not I would like to see your electricity bill)
in the guild of miners Slush is all you need to start, but basically is
- you create an account in the guild of miners
- you put your number wallet MyBitcoin or your BitCoin client where want me to arrive BTCs
- you create a 'mining' for each machine you are going to put mine (ie, user / password for each machine)
- you set up the machines with the software you step off the same guild of miners (GuiMiner, a graphical interface for python program using OpenCL, CUDA or ATI CAL / Stream)
- and put Curran
According to your effort (or the capacity of the machine you use) will increment your balance 'unconfirmed' of BTCs. The 'uncommitted balance' is the amount of money estimated to touch you once the current block on which we are working is resolved. The more you work your mining, but unconfirmed balance touch you. Once the block is resolved (and as long as the 'Guild Slush miners' be able to solve it before other unions of miners) you will get your benefits concept of 'balance confirmed'.
Once confirmed balance exceeds a certain threshold you specify on the Web mining guild, you will make you a transfer to the wallet that will specify in this web.
4) As BitCoins spent
Well, here now comes the desire to spend on each.