Bitcoin stands as a pioneering force, reshaping the way we perceive and engage with financial systems. At its core, Bitcoin is more than just an asset; it embodies a revolutionary protocol that transcends traditional notions of currency and introduces a decentralised approach to transactions.
This was the focus of a recent presentation given by Kevin Healy (Content Specialist at BSV Blockchain) at the London Blockchain Conference. He explained that the economic implications of Bitcoin extend far beyond its digital realm, challenging established norms and sparking debates on the nature of value, scarcity, and monetary policy.
Healey aimed to facilitate the onboarding of developers and help them start building on the BSV blockchain through an introduction to his beginner-level course: Bitcoin Basics: Protocol and Design.
This course serves as an introduction to the Bitcoin protocol and its method of operation and is intended for beginners to Bitcoin. Some of the key focuses of Healey include how Bitcoin is a ledger, first and foremost; why Bitcoin shares core principles with triple-entry accounting; how coins and transactions are correlated, as well as their associated fees.
The Bitcoin Civil War
As part of his presentation, Healey explained that for the past five years, Bitcoin has been ensnared in a relentless internal conflict, fuelled by adept social engineers affiliated with influential companies in the realm of social media.
These skilled manipulators have effectively diverted the attention of Bitcoin enthusiasts towards internal discord, preventing them from exploring innovative, data-driven business models with the potential to transform the global economy.
In the wake of this civil war, three rival versions of Bitcoin (BTC, BCH, and BSV) have surfaced. Simultaneously, thousands of other crypto projects and tokens have arisen, posing as legitimate businesses until inevitably revealing themselves as almost guaranteed exit scams.
BSV blockchain and micropayments
Healy notes that Bitcoin’s elimination of the reliance on trusted third parties allows for transactions of smaller denominations than previously achievable – micropayments. Traditional credit card companies impose a fee of $0.10 plus 2% to account for their operational costs and generate profits, rendering transactions below $0.10 economically impractical. Bitcoin has revolutionised this scenario, enabling the execution of sub-penny payments for the first time.
Credit card companies and similar third parties routinely gather personal information, including billing addresses, with each transaction processing, a practice unsuitable for casual transactions like purchasing online article access or making in-game payments. Bitcoin transactions, in contrast, do not necessitate the same level of information collection. They facilitate private and irreversible casual transactions.
While Know Your Customer (KYC) laws become relevant at specific thresholds, and stolen Bitcoins can be recovered, for small payments, they remain irreversible. Unlike traditional transactions, there is no recourse to call and request a reversal; Bitcoin transactions operate akin to cash transactions.
Learn more with the BSV Academy
Those interested in learning more about the fundamentals of Bitcoin and its history are encouraged to sign up for the BSV Academy’s courses.
The BSV Academy is an online education platform which offers academia-quality, university-style courses and learning materials categorised under Bitcoin Theory, Bitcoin Development, Bitcoin Infrastructure and Bitcoin Enterprise, in addition to several short courses covering specific concepts and content in more detail.
Developed and run by the BSV Blockchain, the BSV Academy has been created to make learning about the Bitcoin protocol – the way creator Satoshi Nakamoto designed it – accessible, accurate, and understandable.