Bitcoin is both a blessing and a curse for the blockchain technology. It is a blessing because it brings a lot of attention to the technology. A lot of people and companies have put time, effort, and hard-earned cash into the blockchain only because of Bitcoin. But, at the same time, a lot of people have lost trust in blockhain technology because of this it. Many still confuse Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies with blockchain.
Just to make it clear, the distinction is the following:
- Blockchain is a technology. It can be used for a variety of scenarios, solutions, and applications.
- Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency. It is one of many applications of the blockchain technology.
Now that we’ve clarified that, we can learn a lot more about blockchain in general, and Bitcoin in particular. A widely used application like Bitcoin is helpful for understanding the technological concepts of the blockchain.
Learn me a Bitcoin, for example, is an excellent website, which explains how Bitcoin works, and how the blockchain technology is utilized for this particular application. We think this website does the best job explaining things, out of all the thousands of other resources online. It is simple, straightforward, and easy to either follow from top to bottom or jump around the subjects. The guide is a great place to start. The glossary of terms is very handy too.
If reading is not your thing, there are some video tutorials. And, as a cherry on top, the site also provides the Bitcoin block explorer, which you can use to navigate and examine the Bitcoin network.