How does Bitcoin actually work? — A non-technical explanation.

For many knowing how Bitcoin works doesn’t matter. I mean when is the last time you have read an article on how Instagram or Google works? That said, when is last time most us gave money to either company? If you’re willing to convert some portion of your wealth into Bitcoin, it might be important to understand how things work under the hood. Fortunately the objective of this post is to clarify without getting into the highly technical weeds of Bitcoin.

The four key components of the Bitcoin application

Blocks/Blockchain

To understand Blocks role, imagine a chain with links. Each link represents a payment being sent between two people occurring on the Bitcoin application. Blocks represent a set of links on this chain, or a “block” of them. Currently, the Bitcoin application validates approximately one block every 10 minutes. That’s where the frequently mentioned term connected to Bitcoin, “block”-“chain” (Blockchain), comes from. This blockchain is a public ledger or database of every transaction that has ever occured within the Bitcoin application. This database isn’t…