For anybody who is here, you've heard about Bitcoin. It's been among the biggest frequent news headlines over the last year or so - as a get rich quick scheme, the end of finance, the birth of truly international currency, as the end of the world, or as a technology that has improved the world. But what is Bitcoin?

All of us know, generally, what 'money' is and what it's used for. The most significant issue that witnessed in money use before Bitcoin relates to it being centralised and controlled by an individual entity - the centralised banking system. Bitcoin was invented in 2008/2009 by an unknown creator who goes by the pseudonym 'Satoshi Nakamoto' to bring decentralisation to cash on a global scale. The idea is that the currency can be traded across international lines with no difficulty or fees, the checks and balances would be distributed across the entire globe (rather than just on the ledgers of non-public corporations or governments), and money would become more democratic and equally accessible to all.

The concept of Bitcoin, and cryptocurrency on the whole, was started in 2009 by Satoshi, an unknown researcher. The main reason for its invention was to solve the issue of centralisation within the use of money which relied on banks and computers, an issue that many computer scientists were not satisfied with. Achieving decentralisation has been attempted since the late 90s without success, so when Satoshi published a paper in 2008 providing a solution, it was overwhelmingly welcomed. Today, Bitcoin has become a familiar currency for internet users and has given rise to thousands of 'altcoins' (non-Bitcoin cryptocurrencies).

Bitcoin is made by way of a process called mining. The same as paper money is made through printing, and gold is mined from the ground, Bitcoin is created by 'mining'. Mining involves solving of complex mathematical problems regarding blocks using computers and adding them to a public ledger. When it began, a simple CPU (like that within your home computer) was all one needed to mine crypto Ethereum, however, the degree of difficulty has grown significantly and now you shall need specialised hardware, including high end Graphics Processing Unit (GPUs), to extract Bitcoin.

To begin with, you have to open an account with a trading platform and create a wallet; you may find some examples by searching Google for 'Bitcoin trading platform' - they generally have names involving 'coin', or 'market'. After joining one of these platforms, you click on the assets, and after that click on crypto to choose your desired currencies. There are a variety of indicators on every platform that can be quite important, and also you should make sure to observe them before investing.

While mining will be the surest and, in a way, simplest way to earn Bitcoin, there is too much hustle involved, as well as the cost of electricity and specialised computer hardware makes it inaccessible to most of us. To avoid all this, make it easy for yourself, directly input the amount you want from your bank and click "buy', then sit-back and watch as your investment increases according to the cost change. This really is called exchanging and takes place on many exchanges platforms available today, with the ability to trade between many various fiat currencies (USD, AUD, GBP, etc) and different crypto coins (Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, etc).

If you're familiar with stocks, bonds, or Forex exchanges, in which case you will understand crypto-trading easily. You can find Bitcoin brokers like e-social trading, FXTM markets, and many others which you can choose from. The platforms supply you with Bitcoin-fiat or fiat-Bitcoin currency pairs, example BTC-USD means trading Bitcoins for United States of America Dollars. Keep your eyes on the price changes to search out the perfect pair as outlined by price changes; the platforms provide price among other indicators to give you proper trading tips.

There's also organisations setup to enable you to buy shares in companies that invest in Bitcoin - these companies do the back and forth trading, and you just invest in them, and wait for your monthly benefits. These companies simply pool digital money from different investors and invest on their behalf.

As you are able to see, investing in Bitcoin demands that you've got some basic familiarity with the currency, as explained above. As with all investments, it involves risk! The question of whether or not to invest depends entirely upon the individual. On the flip side, if I were to give advice, I would advise in favor of investing in Bitcoin with a reason that, Bitcoin keeps growing - although there is one significant boom and bust period, it is highly likely that Cryptocurrencies as a whole will continue to increase in value over the next 10 years. Bitcoin is the biggest, and most well-known, of all the current cryptocurrencies, so is an excellent area to start, and the safest bet, currently. Although volatile within the short-run, I suspect you shall find that Bitcoin trading might be more profitable than most other ventures.