Can someone explain how logistically bitcoin works?
I want to buy something and I want to use bitcoin. My understanding is that my bitcoin is some long chain of bytes of data identifying it as unique. Do I hand over a data file (which, as bitcoin’s are mined, grows in size)? Will a thumb drive suffice? Can I buy something via email, with my bitcoin as an attachment?
I have similar questions...I am confused about how it works.
Both you and the recipient would need a bitcoin wallet address. There are many options for wallets. Some live on the web, where others can be stored on your hard drive or thumb drive.
To send bitcoin, you would need to connect your wallet to the web. Each wallet should have a “send” option, and you just enter the bitcoin wallet address of the person you want to send to.
The public portion of the wallet address are recorded in the transaction, which is also public. The actual names and identities are not recorded, just the public portion of the wallet addresses, and the amount of the transaction.
There’s a lot of faith in unseen things required in trading bitcoins. I’ve been mining/trading cryptocurrencies for several months, and it still looks like voodoo to me.