As long as you hold digital assets you purchased with fiat currency without converting them into cash or other crypto, you are not required to report or pay taxes on any potential gains to the IRS.

When computers on the network verify and process transactions, new bitcoins are created, or mined. These networked computers, or miners, process the transaction in exchange for a payment in Bitcoin. Bitcoin is powered by blockchain, which is the technology that powers many cryptocurrencies.

Bitcoin is a payment that uses virtual currency instead of fiat or physical currency. It uses a blockchain to secure transaction information out of the reach of centralized third parties who traditionally facilitate and regulate transactions.

In simple terms, Bitcoin hashrate refers to the computational power utilized by miners to validate and process transactions on the blockchain. This process involves solving complex mathematical puzzles that verify the legitimacy of transactions and add them to the blockchain, ensuring the network’s integrity.

Bitcoin mining is the process of validating the information in a blockchain block by generating a cryptographic solution that matches specific criteria. When a correct solution is reached, a reward in the form of bitcoin and fees for the work done is given to the miner(s) who reached the solution first.

Bitcoin is not controlled by any single group or person. Instead, it is governed by multiple stakeholders — including developers, miners, and users. Developers write the code that makes Bitcoin run; miners validate transactions; and users put the software to work by trading, transacting, holding, and more.

Satoshi Nakamoto is the name used by the presumed pseudonymous person or persons who developed Bitcoin, authored the bitcoin white paper, and created and deployed bitcoin’s original reference implementation. As part of the implementation, Nakamoto also devised the first blockchain database.