Crypto Basics

Picture a notebook that 10,000 strangers all hold at the same time. When someone writes a new line in it, every other notebook updates to match. Nobody can tear out a page without everyone else noticing. That notebook is, roughly, a blockchain. It is a much simpler idea than the word suggests — and most…

My first Bitcoin transaction felt oddly ordinary. I sent a small amount from one wallet to another, waited a few minutes, and that was it — no bank branch, no form, no one to call. The odd part came later, when I tried to explain to a friend what I had actually sent. It was…