超实用英语 一分钟带你了解比特币 What is Bitcoin
近两个月比特币大涨 ， 引起全球范围的关注。今天有消息称，巨人集团董事长史玉柱已完成对比特币交易平台“OKcoin”数千万美元的投资，据说之前雷军投资过OKcoin，CEO 徐明星承认雷军确系其投资人。今天南溪跟大家一起来学习下，比特币到底是个什么鬼？ 为什么涨得这么这么疯狂？
What is Bitcoins？
Bitcoin is a new currency that was created in 2009 by an unknown person using the alias Satoshi Nakamoto.
Transactions are made with no middle men – meaning, no banks! Bitcoin can be used to book hotels on Expedia, shop for furniture on Overstock and buy Xbox games.
But much of the hype is about getting rich by trading it. The price of bitcoin skyrocketed into（飞涨 突然高升vt） the thousands in 2017.
Why Bitcoins?
Bitcoins can be used to buy merchandise（n.商品） anonymously(adv 匿名的). In addition, international payments（国际支付） are easy and cheap because bitcoins are not tied to any country or subject to regulation. Small businesses may like them because there are no credit card fees. Some people just buy bitcoins as an investment, hoping that they’ll go up in value.
Buy on an Exchange
Many marketplaces called “bitcoin exchanges” （比特币交易所）allow people to buy or sell bitcoins using different currencies（n. 货币）. Coinbase is a leading exchange, along with Bitstamp and Bitfinex. But security can be a concern: bitcoins worth tens of millions of dollars were stolen from Bitfinex when it was hacked（vt. hack into system 侵入计算机网络） in 2016.
Mining
People compete to “mine” bitcoins using computers to solve complex math puzzles. This is how bitcoins are created. Currently, a winner is rewarded with 12.5 bitcoins roughly every 10 minutes.
Owning Bitcoins
Bitcoins are stored in a “digital wallet,（数字钱包）” which exists either in the cloud or on a user’s computer. The wallet is a kind of virtual bank account （虚拟银行账户）that allows users to send or receive bitcoins, pay for goods or save their money. Unlike bank accounts, bitcoin wallets are not insured by the FDIC(联邦存款保险公司Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation 简单理解为，银行的保险公司）
Future in question
No one knows what will become of bitcoin. It is mostly unregulated, but some countries like Japan and Australia have begun weighing regulations（考虑出台监管措施）. Governments are concerned about taxation（n. 征税） and their lack of control over the currency.
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