Ok, well bitcoin is just a currency, but a private one, not one with any government backing. So essentially, it’s kind of like when private banks used to issue their own banknotes that could be used as currency.
The difference is in the medium of exchange. Instead of trading little pieces of paper to represent the currency, people trade little bits of digital data to represent the currency. The data is encrypted and records of the transactions are designed to be as secure as possible. So, you can’t just copy a bitcoin and pass it off, because there are associated records (called a blockchain) that keep track of everywhere that particular bitcoin has been traded. A bitcoin without a valid blockchain is worthless, and so basically, a bitcoin can’t just appear out of thin air.
So how do I get a bit coin to get started? Do I have to buy bitcoins with American money to have money in the bitcoin bank?
In gold and silver we trust. Owners who have it in hand never have to worry about hack attacks. It is not subject to power failure or grid failure. And, it will never be worth zero. US mint Silver Eagles can be bought now for about $21.00.
Silver rounds are about $17.00.