What's Bitcoin? How does Bitcoin work?

What is mining?

Mining is the process of employing computing power to prevent bitcoin transactions from reversing and introducing new bitcoins into the system. Technically, mining is the calculation of a block header hash, including a reference to a previous block, a hash of a set of transactions, and a random number (an arbitrary number used only once for authentication).

How do I buy bitcoins?

The most common way to buy bitcoins is on a bitcoin exchange such as GDAX or BitStamp, or directly from others through marketplaces and auction sites. Purchases can be made in a variety of ways, with cash, credit and debit cards, wire transfers, or even with other cryptocurrencies.

What is a Bitcoin wallet?

A "wallet" is basically the bitcoin equivalent of a bank account. Wallets allow you to receive bitcoins, store them, and then send them to others. There are two main types of wallets, software and web. A software wallet is a wallet that you install on your computer or mobile device. You have complete control over the security of your bitcoins, but these wallets can sometimes be difficult to install and maintain. Web wallets, or hosted wallets, are wallets that are hosted by a third party. These are usually easier to use, but you must trust the provider (host) to maintain a high level of security to protect your cryptocurrency.