Have you ever heard of something called Bitcoin? Many people are talking about it all over the world. You may have heard that some people are even getting rich because of it. But what exactly is it? It might be easier to understand by first explaining what it is not.
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它，不是實體貨幣
You already use money every day. Maybe your mom or dad gives you one-hundred dollars (NTD $100). That red piece of paper is called a bill, or paper money. If you buy something that costs $90, you will get a $10 coin back. These bills and coins are physical money. Bitcoin is not like this. You can’t touch it.
Bitcoin is a kind of money, or currency, but you don’t hold it in your hand. It lives online. It’s kind of like the coins you collect in a video game—it only exists as information inside a computer network. This kind of virtual money is called cryptocurrency. Bitcoin is just one of many kinds of cryptocurrencies.
What’s the difference between physical and virtual money? Physical money can be centralized. That means the bills and coins are kept in banks. Every country only makes so much physical money. When you move money by buying things, the banks keep track of it. It doesn’t matter if the money is cash, credit or debit—the bank still tracks it.
On the other hand, Bitcoin is not centralized. That means it is not made by any government or tracked by the banks of any country. When people spend their Bitcoin, they are the only ones who know. If you spend Bitcoin on a new music album or something online, only you know about it.