Almost every week there is some news about the ups and downs of Bitcoin here at Olhar Digital . With the period of uncertainty in the cryptocurrency market – whose capitalization has plummeted in recent weeks -, many take the opportunity to seek more information about the digital asset. Some even invest in the down period hoping to get a return in the future.

With that in mind, we prepared a special content about the most famous cryptocurrency on the market.

What is Bitcoin?

Bitcoin was the world’s first virtual currency. Currently, the asset can be used for various purposes, such as purchasing goods and services in various establishments that already accept payments in cryptocurrencies. Something that is becoming a trend even in the fashion world .

As it is a 100% digital and decentralized currency, crypto is not regulated by governments and banks as is the case with traditional money, so an investor can send and receive values ​​in Bitcoin without the need for an intermediary.

Despite the positive point, reports show that this anonymity is also used to apply scams. According to a report by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), in 2021, more than 46,000 people suffered scams involving cryptocurrencies, with losses on the order of US$ 1 billion.

How did it come about?

The “birth” of Bitcoin was on October 31, 2008, the date on which the creator of the asset, who remains unknown to the general public under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto, sent an email message to a select list of contacts. describing a new reliable electronic cash system.

The message also carried a kind of nine-page manual with more information about the fundamentals of cryptocurrency. The idea from the beginning was to allow anonymous financial operations without intermediaries. The process to generate Bitcoins also soon gained a name that became well known among cryptocurrency enthusiasts: mining .

Despite being released in 2008, the first Bitcoin, which has earned the nickname Genesis, was only mined on January 3, 2009.

How many Bitcoins are there?

In the manual, it was stipulated that the supply of Bitcoin will be limited to 21 million units, which can be mined until the year 2140.

About 19 million Bitcoins have already been mined, that is, only 2 million remain.

What was the highest value reached

Buoyed by the success of trading the first Bitcoin investment fund (ETF) on the US exchange and the (until then positive) experience in El Salvador , which adopted the use of digital currency in September last year, Bitcoin has reached its highest level. quotation between October and November.

On October 20, 2021, the cryptocurrency surpassed $66,000, before hitting a new record of $69,000 in November.

Why is cryptocurrency losing value?

Despite the positive balance reached in November 2021, the cryptocurrency has been going through periods of decline since then, which only intensified in 2022.

Experts point out that the retreat in the market gained more strength due to the uncertainties in the global economy , greatly influenced by factors such as the impacts of rising inflation, which led many investors to leave Bitcoin aside to bet on less risky assets and subject to risk. volatility.

In the end, despite the bad phase, Bitcoin usually recovers well from bad moments like this, so much so that some analysts are already betting that the digital currency could reach a new all-time high later this year.