As a noob you first need to know two things; What blockchain technology is and how Bitcoin works.


Short but sweet explanation:


Blockchain Explained for Noobs:



The blockchain is essentially just a chain of blocks. The blocks, are digital information like transaction details, and the chain is a public database. This chain of blocks is accessible to everyone with a computer and internet connection.


In other words, the blockchain simply is a chain of chunked up information about transactions. You can imagine a train pulling a bunch of wagons. Each  wagon (block) is connected to each other (chain), and inside the blocks there is information about transactions. Everyone who wants to check the information within the wagons can look it up on the internet.


That is it. You now know what a blockchain is. A bunch of chunked up information stored in blocks, organized in a public database accessible to everyone.




Bitcoin Explained for Noobs:


Bitcoin is, as you've heard, a digital currency. You can send Bitcoin to other people directly, without having to go through a bank.


It's like handing someone a physical five dollar bill. It goes directly from you to the other person.


The difference between transacting cash, and transacting Bitcoin is that ALL Bitcoin transactions are logged on the blockchain. The two parties involved, the amount of BTC and the time date of the transactions are put into a block (wagon on the train), for everyone to see.


How is this possible to do, and how can we know transactions actually happen the way we log them on the blockchain? How can we know that people don't just "fake" a transaction to increase the amount of Bitcoin in their, or someone else's wallet? (This is called "the double spending problem")


That's where Bitcoin miners come in. Every single Bitcoin miner on the network checks transactions, to see if someone is trying to "fake" transactions, or trick the systems in other ways. For a transaction to go through, and be verified, at least 51% of the miner network as to give it the green light.


That's why it takes a good 30 minutes to send Bitcoin to another person. You have to wait for at least half of the miner network to give your transaction the green light.


This makes it practically impossible to trick the miners, as you have to trick over half the network at the same time.




I hope this helps in understanding just what the heck Bitcoin is, and how it works.


What's next?

I've written a series of short guides for noobs, as well as detailed, in depth stuff on the technology, as well as the investing side of crypto on my website; www.solberginvest.com.




I answer questions like:


What Does Decentralized Mean?

What Are Crypto Wallets?

What Are Stablecoins?

What Does Volume Mean?

What is the Best Crypto Wallet?

What Does Supply Mean?


If you want to check it out, go to:


https://solberginvest.com/short-beginner-guides/

Disclaimer: I am the author of this site.