Origin of Bitcoin and mystery surrounding it

How Bitcoin originated and who created it?

Bitcoin originated in 2009.Since then Bitcoin has experienced significant highs and lows. Last week, the cryptocurrency surpassed an $16,000 evaluation for the first time in history. Bitcoin is considered the preeminent cryptocurrency in the world. There's plenty of mystery surrounding its creation.Who created it ,how it is created etc..

Here is the timeline of Bitcoin,

In 2008, the first inklings of bitcoin begin to circulate the web. In August 2008, the domain name bitcoin.org was registered online. Two months later, a paper entitled 'Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System' authored by ‘Satoshi Nakamoto’.But who is this Satoshi Nakamoto.Identity of Satoshi Nakamoto is still unknown.It may be a single genius or a group of talents who like to stay anonymous for number of reasons.

Bitcoin runs through an autonomous software program.Bitcoin is just one among thousands of cryptocurrency.

In 2010, a handful of merchants started accepting bitcoin in lieu of established currencies.
The cryptocurrency began attracting interest from tech elites, as well. In 2012, Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss purchased $10 million worth of bitcoin, and, in less than a year their investment had more than tripled. It's been estimated the Winklevoss twins own 1% of all available bitcoin.

In 2011, the Silk Road, an online marketplace for illegal drugs, launches. It uses bitcoin as its chief form of currency.

Two years after its origin, the mysterious figure known as "Satoshi Nakamoto" disappears from the web.

Google "Satoshi Nakamoto" and the results will lead you straight to image after image of an elderly Asian man. This is Dorian S. Nakamoto, named "Satoshi Nakamoto" at birth. He is almost 70 years old, lives in Los Angeles with his mother, and, as he has reminded people hundreds of times, is not the creator of Bitcoin.

The Craig Wright controversy:In 2016, Australian entrepreneur Craig Wright claimed to be the creator of Bitcoin and provided disputed code as proof. But finally he also withdrew.

In the course of determining the identity of Satoshi Nakamoto, there's one person who has been thumbed again and again: hyper-secretive cryptocurrency expert Nick Szabo, who was not only fundamental to the development of Bitcoin, but also created his own cryptocurrency called "bit gold" in the late '90s.

In 2014, a team of linguistic researchers studied Nakamoto's writings alongside those of thirteen potential bitcoin creators. The results, they said, were indisputable. “The number of linguistic similarities between Szabo’s writing and the Bitcoin whitepaper is uncanny," the researchers reported, "none of the other possible authors were anywhere near as good of a match."Szabo firmly denied these claims, both in The New York times story and in a tweet: "Not Satoshi, but thank you."

Recently , Tesla and SpaceX founder Elon Musk denied being Bitcoin's creator. 

Nakamoto has written extensively about Bitcoin, authoring close to 80,000 words on the subject in the course of two years. His work reads like that of a native English speaker. Judging by Nakamoto’s spelling, and his use of British colloquialisms, it's thought he might hail from the UK. The timing of his posts seem to indicate this fact as well: It's been pointed out that Nakamoto posted during UK daylight hours.

The Wikipedia entry on Satoshi Nakamoto names at least 13 potential candidates as being responsible for the creation of Bitcoin.

Why would the inventor of the world's number one cryptocurrency choose to remain anonymous?It might have number of reasons.

History of such currencies are not quite good.

In 1998, Hawaiian resident Bernard von NotHaus dabbled in a fledgling form of currency called "Liberty Dollars" to disastrous results: He was charged with violating federal law and sentenced to six months of house arrest, along with a three-year probation.

In 2007, one of the first digital currencies, E-Gold, was shut down amid contentious circumstances by the government on grounds of money laundering.

If the inventor of Bitcoin wants to remain anonymous, it's for good reason: by maintaining anonymity, they've avoided adverse legal consequences, making their anonymity at least partially responsible for the currency's success.

Besides, one of the founding principals of Bitcoin is that it's a decentralized currency, untethered to conspicuous institutions or individuals. In his original proposition on Bitcoin, Nakamoto wrote, "What is needed is an electronic payment system based on cryptographic proof instead of trust, allowing any two willing parties to transact directly with each other without the need for a trusted third party."

A closer look at one of Nakamoto's original postings on the proposal of Bitcoin sheds some light on his possible motivations.

In February 2009, Nakamoto wrote, "The root problem with conventional currency is all the trust that's required to make it work. The central bank must be trusted not to debase the currency, but the history of fiat currencies is full of breaches of that trust. Banks must be trusted to hold our money and transfer it electronically, but they lend it out in waves of credit bubbles with barely a fraction in reserve. We have to trust them with our privacy, trust them not to let identity thieves drain our accounts."

Even after 9 years of its creation , brain behind bitcoin is still a mystery.

Read Bit coin original Whitepaper: https://bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf

Google Tez UPI app:How you can sign up and transfer money?

Google has launched NPCI UPI based payment app Tez.How you can sign up and transfer money?

Finally global search giant global has entered Indian booming digital payment industry with the launch of Tez on 18th September.Tez has joined UPI club of PayTM, PhonePe, and the official app BHIM.Each bank has launched their own UPI(Unified Payment Interface) app. But private players are making most out of NPCI(National payments Corporation of India) UPI platform.Each UPI app comes with it's own uniqueness. After the introduction of UPI use of digital wallets has decreased considerably.

Google has also incorporated a bit of innovation in its Tez app.One of the unique features included in Google Tez app is “Cash Mode” which helps you send money without needing the recipient's number or QR codes, instead using an audio matching system.

How to sign-up for Google Tez?

Let us see how one an sign up and use Google Tez UPI app.

Tez sign-up process

Step1:Download and Install Google Tez app from Playstore or iTunes
Step2:Open the app and choose the language.
Step3:Enter your phone number (Phone number should be linked with bank A/C)
Step4:Select your email ID
Ste4:Upon verifying mobile number and emaill, you will be asked to select either google PIN or pattern lock for your Tez app
Step5:Set PIN or Pattern lock
Step6:Select your bank
Step7:App will automatically fetch your corresponding bank account linked with your mobile number.
Step8:After fetching bank account you have to set a UPI PIN.If you already have a UPI PIN then enter and proceed. Now you are ready to go.

With Tez on hand what all things you can do?

• Transfer money between your own bank accounts or with others accounts
• Pay bills for taxi,hotel or any shopkeeper
• tansfer money to other user without revealing your bank details or phone number using "Cash
  Mode"
• Shop online with tez 
• Earn Tez Scratch Cards to win up to ₹1,000 with each transaction and be eligible to win ₹1 lakh every week with Lucky Sundays. You don’t need to hunt for coupon codes. Just use Tez and if you win, your rewards go straight into your bank account.
• Tez can do whatever NPCI UPI is capable of

How to use use unique "CashMode" in google Tez app for transferring money?

Step1:After fetching your bank account details ,just launch your app and tap on CashMode button

Step2:If you wish to make payment to nearby user just tap on pay or else if you are receiving payment just tap receive.

Step3:App will automatically other tez users nearby through wifi connectivity.This resembles file establishing connection between two users in file sharing apps like 'shareit' or 'xender'.

Step4:After establishing connection just enter amount you wish to pay and proceed.

How safe Google Tez is ?

• Secure payments with Tez Shield:The Tez Shield works 24/7 to help detect fraud, prevent hacking, and verify your identity. 

• Two layer verification with Google PIN and UPI PIN.Each transaction is secured with your UPI PIN and the app is secured with a Google PIN or your screen lock method such as fingerprint. 
• 24/7 dedicated help center is also for your queries 

Why UPI apps like Google tez,PhonePe etc are preferred over digital wallets.?

 Answer is crystal clear. In digital wallets you need to keep money in your wallet which does not return any interest.But in UPI based app you need not keep money with app. Money will be kept in your bank accounts only, which will be earning regular interest also.UPI application is acting as an agent for transferring money. 

Since India is targeting a digital economy, payments apps like GOOGLE Tez will remain relevant in coming years.
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20 Tips for safe ATM,Debit,Credit card usage

How to make your Credit/Debit card usage safe and secure?

As the world moves towards a digital economy, use of Debit card,Credit cards and other other prepaid payment cards are increasing at an accelerated rate.At the same time chances of compromising user data have also increased.Experts say it’s almost inevitable ,this kind of thing will happen again.Don't forget that , fraudsters are also following technology advancements.

On the verge of increases digital payments, every one must have  minimum knowledge in order to make their card credit,debit usage safe and secure

As financial fraud grows day by day, understanding the basics of debit/credit card protection is more important than ever.

• .Never store your PIN in the same place as your card; if your card gets stolen, you don’t want a thief to have the PIN as well.
• Change your PIN frequently.Even if your PIN is leaked at some point of time, changing PIN may reduce your loss.Make it a habit to change PIN frequently.
• Enable Two tier authentication.For online transaction, enable OTP(One Time password).



An EMV chip card

• Replace your Magnetic strip cards with EMV chip cards.Most of the banks have disabled old Magnetic strip cards.If you are still using it, get it replaced by EMV chip cards(EMV chip technology is becoming the global standard for credit card and debit card payments. Named after its original developers (Europay, MasterCard and Visa))
• Watch for Skimmers in ATMS and POS. There are devices which can skim your card deatil while you use your card in ATMs or POS. Before inserting your cards,give quick check for such devices.
• Hotlist if you lost your card.If your card is lost,immediately block it.Either contact the bank directly or call the toll free number provided by the card vendor from your registered mobile number.



Canara Bank's mServe application for enabling and disabling debit/credit cards

• Temporary lock your card after use.Recently Canara Bank,a leading public sector bank in India has introduced a mobile application 'mServe' ,through which you can switch off and switch on your card.After use you can temporarily lock the card. Next time when you use ,just switch on the card and use it.This will virtually make your card use 100% safe.Nowadays many banks are providing such facilities.
• Use Secure payment gate ways online.Before entering your card details online,make sure that website url start with 'https' in which 's' stand for secure.These sites use secure encoding for data transfer.Apart from that, use your card only on trusted and well known payment gateways.Never enter your card details on gaming, pornography, lottery, gambling and unsecured websites.



Many e-commerce sites like amazon,paytm will prompt you to save your card details online.

• Never save your card details online.Some online shopping sites may suggest you to save your card details for future payments.
• Never respond to calls,mails and sms seeking your card information.bank officials or card authorities will never ask your PIN number or OTP.
• Keep separate  debit card for online payment. Keep minimum amount according to your requirements in the account linked to that card.Even if your card is compromised ,higher loss can be avoided.
• Activate sms or email alert.It will help detect unauthorized transactions faster.
• Use more effective password all the time.
• Disable automatic transfers to linked accounts. Many banks offer customers the option of linking a savings account or line of credit to their checking account, with an automatic transfer of funds if a transaction would trigger and overdraft.If your debit card is used by thieves, this means they can wipe out both of your accounts, so consider temporarily disabling this function.
• Keep watching your statements. Monitoring your statements for any unfamiliar activity is basic advice.
• Sign instead of keying in your PIN. Opt for signature over PIN transactions with your debit card. Merchants would prefer that you use your PIN because it’s cheaper for them, which is why most payment terminals are set up with a PIN prompt as a default, but it’s riskier because it gives data thieves the option of creating a fake debit card and hitting the ATM to take out your money.
• Updates your info with bank.Mobile number,address,email etc.. So that any communication falling in to some other person's hand can be avoided.
• Secure your devices and networks.Install latest antivirus software and update your OS regularly to avoid any breaches.Avoid Computers like cyber cafes. and public wifi networks.
• Note down your CVV and tamper it.The CVV number is three-digit, typically imprinted at the end of the signature panel on the reverse of credit (or debit) card.It serves as the authorizing code for the transaction. Experts advise removing the CVV number from the card because other important details (card number or card expiry date) cannot be removed from it. CVV being a small number, it can always be memorised or written in a safe place.
• Sign on back of your card.Suppose you are making a purchase,the signature line, coupled with a signature on the receipt, allows a retailer to check the signatures,.Unfortunately no retailer does it.

Don't wait for others to make you safe, be your own guardian.Implement above tips for making your debit/credit card usage more secure.