A Bitcoin address is similar to a physical address or an email. It is the only information you need to provide for someone to pay you with Bitcoin. An important difference, however, is that each address should only be used for a single transaction.
Bitcoin ATM
The ATM is a physical machine that allows customers to buy bitcoins for cash. There are approximately 450 bitcoin ATM's worldwide.
Here is the steps to use the ATM:
Scan your a QR code towards the Bitcoin machines camera
Enter the location to send the Payment
Enter the Dollar bill
Press send
Receive the payments within 7 seconds or less on your mobile phone.
Block
A block is a record in the block chain that contains and confirms many waiting transactions. Roughly every 10 minutes, on average, a new block including transactions is appended to the block chain through mining.
Block Chain (or Public Ledger)
The public registry for all Bitcoin transactions, which are successively added in blocks once they have been validated through the mining process.
A journal that records all Bit-coin transactions performed online. Find out more in this video:
BTC
Term used to refer to one Bitcoin unit.
Cryptocurrency
A decentralized digital currency that is convertible and functions as both a currency and a decentralized payments system. Transactions are recorded on a public ledger, which is shared across a peer-to-peer network, and the validity of transactions is verified through cryptographic techniques. Bitcoin is an example.
Mining
The process through which “miners” on the Bitcoin network compete to solve a “random hash algorithm” to validate and add a block of transactions to the public ledger, and for which they receive bitcoin as compensation.
Here is how it works:
Private Key
A private key is a secret piece of data that proves your right to spend bitcoins from a specific wallet through a cryptographic signature. Your private key(s) are stored in your computer if you use a software wallet; they are stored on some remote servers if you use a web wallet. Private keys must never be revealed as they allow you to spend bitcoins for their respective Bitcoin wallet.
Signature
A cryptographic signature is a mathematical mechanism that allows someone to prove ownership. In the case of Bitcoin, a Bitcoin wallet and its private key(s) are linked by some mathematical magic. When your Bitcoin software signs a transaction with the appropriate private key, the whole network can see that the signature matches the bitcoins being spent. However, there is no way for the world to guess your private key to steal your hard-earned bitcoins.
Virtual / Digital Currency
Electronic forms of exchange and their associated technologies that operate on the Internet and/or on mobile devices, and that are not issued or controlled by a government or central bank.
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Wallet
A Bitcoin wallet is loosely the equivalent of a physical wallet on the Bitcoin network. The wallet actually contains your private key(s) which allow you to spend the bitcoins allocated to it in the block chain. Each Bitcoin wallet can show you the total balance of all bitcoins it controls and lets you pay a specific amount to a specific person, just like a real wallet. This is different to credit cards where you are charged by the merchant.