Читать книгу Bitcoin For Dummies - Peter Kent - Страница 19

As we write these words, anyone owning a Bitcoin can sell it for around US$48,000. But we’ve just told you there is no Bitcoin…that all there is, is a ledger stating that the Bitcoin exists, and who (which address in the blockchain) owns it. How can that possibly hold value!?

To understand that, we need to understand a little about money and how it works. As with any form of money, Bitcoin is all about belief. If enough people believe a form of money has value, then it has value. It can be exchanged for goods and services with other people who believe it has value. Once people stop believing, though, the money no longer holds value. And that does happen sometimes. There have been around 60 hyperinflation events in human history, in which people lost faith in the currency, and it precipitously dropped in value until it was essentially worthless. Most recently, it happened in Zimbabwe; in 2008, the country actually abandoned its currency in favor of using foreign currencies. (Ironically, Zimbabwean dollar bills then rose in value, as collectors worldwide started snapping them up.)

So, again, as long as people believe in a particular form of money, that form of money has value. Let’s say you own half of a Bitcoin; in other words, the Bitcoin blockchain says that you own half of a Bitcoin. (Remember, there is no actual physical Bitcoin, just a record of Bitcoin transactions.) You want to cash out, to convert that Bitcoin into your local currency. The Bitcoin blockchain says you own the address in the blockchain with which that coin is associated (we explain how that works in Chapter 2), and so you can transfer it to someone else’s address.

Currently you can find someone who sees value in having that Bitcoin associated with their address in the blockchain. Why? Because people believe in this form of money, and so potential buyers know that when they are ready to sell it, there will be someone else who believes in it enough to pay for it or exchange goods and services for it. (Plus, they are hoping the money will go up in value, something we discuss more in Chapter 6.)

Belief is what makes Bitcoin work. That may sound a little woowoo or weak. You may think that’s not much on which to base a form of money, but in fact, that’s pretty much what all money is based on. Let us tell you a story.