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Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency: What You Need to Know
Online currencies were created to circumvent traditional money – but does the spiking cost of Bitcoins and others mean a bubble is about to burst?
The value of Bitcoin has spiked in the past few weeks – but will the bubble burst?
By Zachary Zane
December 22, 2017
On Halloween of 2008, a pseudonymous math genius named Satoshi Nakamoto officially unveiled to the public a white paper which detailed the mechanics of a new form of currency: Bitcoin. At its core, that's all Bitcoin is, a digital currency. One that you could buy, trade, and invest in online.
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The Fall of Internet Crime Kingpin Ross Ulbricht
Even though a number of cryptographers saw its potential as early as 2009, there still needed to be a way for the general population to use cryptocurrencies. That's where the illegal online bazaar, Silk Road, comes into play. In the two years and a half years of its existence – from 2011 to 2013 – Silk Road only accepted Bitcoin. That was because Bitcoin transactions could be anonymous, secure, irreversible and you could trade it from anywhere in the world with an Internet connection
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