As stated in Wikipedia Bitcoin is a decentralized digital currency, without a central bank or single administrator, that can be sent from user to user on the peer-to-peer bitcoin network without the need for intermediaries.

But the narrative has changed.

Bitcoin has been appreciated by institutions as a Crypto Asset. MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor thinks that Bitcoin (BTC) is more like digital property than digital currency.

Mathew McDermott, Goldman Sachs’ global head of digital assets, in a new piece of research mentions that Bitcoin is considered an investable asset.

What’s the philosophy behind the invention of Bitcoin?

The Bitcoin White Paper written and published by Satoshi Nakamoto states:

“A purely peer-to-peer version of electronic cash would allow online payments to be sent directly from one party to another without going through a financial institution. Digital signatures provide part of the solution, but the main benefits are lost if a trusted third party is still required to prevent double-spending. We propose a solution to the double-spending problem using a peer-to-peer network. The network timestamps transactions by hashing them into an ongoing chain of hash-based proof-of-work, forming a record that cannot be changed without redoing the proof-of-work. The longest chain not only serves as proof of the sequence of events witnessed, but proof that it came from the largest pool of CPU power. As long as a majority of CPU power is controlled by nodes that are not cooperating to attack the network, they’ll generate the longest chain and outpace attackers. The network itself requires minimal structure. Messages are broadcast on a best effort basis, and nodes can leave and rejoin the network at will, accepting the longest proof-of-work chain as proof of what happened while they were gone.”

Is Bitcoin tradable across the countries and continents?

Yes. Bitcoin is tradable across the countries and continents. You can start trading bitcoin with a reputable trading platform which is registered in your geographic jurisdiction. A minority of jurisdictions might have banned transactions concerning to Bitcoin or other crypto currencies. Countries like El Salvador have taken a leap in acceptance of Bitcoin by making it a legal tender in their monetary system. As the crypto can be divided into 100,000,000 fractions (AKA Satoshis), anyone in the world wishes to have some of the crypto will have the crypto even though it has been capped to a finite number as 21 million bitcoin which is speculated to be completely mined out around the year 2140, about 119 years from this post publication date.

How do people keep Bitcoin safe?

Institutions, considering Bitcoin as an asset, may likely to keep Bitcoin for a long term hedge against inflation. Individuals may purchase Bitcoin and keep it securely in a cold wallet as long as they like to keep it private. Other people who like to actively trade on the crypto may participate in an active trade in a trading platform for making profits. There are also some individuals who believe that Bitcoin’s value will grow exponentially because of its scarcity, might keep it in a cold wallet and even pass it to generation, just like wealthy families pass their lands and properties to their generations.