Crypto Condensed: Certified Bitcoin Professional Exam Guide

So to put centralised ledgers simply, there are controlled by a single entity, a perfect example is your banking statement which lists all of your incomings and outgoings. The bank that you choose to bank with has key control over which incomings and outgoing are actually posted on your bank statement, or lets refer to it as ledger for this lecture.

In this lecture we’re going to discuss the actual function of currencies, so by the end you’ll be fully aware of what function that piece of paper in your wallet or purse holds. You need to be aware of the functions of currencies, because Bitcoin is considered a currency, albeit a cryptocurrency.

You may remember that a few lectures ago we discussed centralised ledgers, well in this lecture I want to discuss the distributed consensus with you, then you’ll see how they both compare. Now you should be aware that Bitcoin, and in fact cryptocurrencies are running on a distributed consensus.

In this lecture I want to give you an insight, well a history lesson as to how Bitcoin has evolved to date, just so you’re aware I’ll be highlighting one key thing from each year up until now as there’s so much in Bitcoins history. Now, by understanding it’s journey it’ll really give you a deeper understanding as to how Bitcoin has become the powerhouse of a cryptocurrency it is today.

By the end of this lecture you’ll be fully aware of how Bitcoins value is derived, I’ll tell you right from the get go it’s pretty simple. However much people like to complicate this, it is simple. So lets jump in, and discuss how the value of Bitcoin is derived.

Welcome to a new section in this course, in this section we’re going to dive deep into everything you need to be aware of when it comes to understanding the basics of cryptography, which is the true underpinnings of Bitcoin.

Lets get a little more technical in this lecture, and understand more about hash functions work within the Bitcoin ecosystem, because they play a very important role.

In this lecture we’re going to go further into understanding cryptography, which is the actual underpinning of Bitcoin and makes it all possible. So by the end of this lecture you’ll be fully aware of what both symmetric and asymmetric encryption algorithms are, as well as the benefits of each.

In this lecture we’re going to go over how digital signatures work with Bitcoin, because a Bitcoin digital signature as well as the whole verification process, is one of the main factors in play which make the Bitcoin protocol work.

Welcome to this new section in the course! This section is all about the basics of Bitcoin, so understanding its key fundamentals. Specifically in this lecture we’re going to cover all about the Bitcoin community, and help you to understand who plays what role. Now I’m only going to cover six roles that you must be aware of, and I will of course touch on other roles that you just need to know for this certification exam.

In this lecture we’re going to briefly talk about Bitcoin addresses and keys, which if you have a Bitcoin wallet, I’m assuming you do, you will have come into contact with. Then in the next lecture I’m going to discuss how Bitcoin transactions actually work. So bear with me, this will make sense. Now I want to break this lecture down to the most simplest form for you, here goes. 

By the end of this lecture you’ll be fully aware of how Bitcoin transactions work, so lets jump into this lecture and work on understanding Bitcoin transactions.

So what is the Blockchain? You’ve heard the term thrown around, but you’re still struggling to truly grasp the concept of this technology. Well fortunately for you, I’ll be breaking down the Blockchain in this lecture. So lets jump into it!

In this lecture I want to ensure that you understand the difference between Bitcoin with a capital B, and Bitcoin with a lowercase B, because it’s not something many of us think about. However, it could appear in the exam, so it’s worth going over.

Welcome to this lecture where we’re going to discuss all about the Bitcoin network, so you gain an all round understanding about how the Bitcoin network operates as a whole. So lets dive in.

So what is a BIP? Well it stands for Bitcoin Improvement Proposals, and in this lecture I’m going to go over it with you so you fully understand what it actually is.

In this lecture I want to touch on buying and selling Bitcoins with you, if you’re already a Bitcoin user you’ll more than likely have been through this process many times. But for the purpose of getting you ready for the certification exam I would like to cover this with you, so here goes, we’ll start off with buying Bitcoins.

A Blockchain Explorer, more specifically a Bitcoin Blockchain Explorer is a very insightful tool that we have our disposal as users. It’s an online block chain browser which displays the contents of individual Bitcoin blocks and transactions and the transaction histories and balances of addresses.

So what is a UTXO? You may have heard the abbreviation before, you may have not. But does it actually mean? Well it stands for Unspent Transaction Output.

Welcome to the next section of this certification course which is all about mining. To start this section off with in this lecture, we’re going to talk about the purpose and function of mining. I’ll also be showing you how it’s possible to setup a miner using nothing but your home computer, however, there’s no hope at all it will be profitable. So lets dive in!

In this lecture I want to go over Bitcoins mining algorithm with you, so if the question appears during your exam, you’ll be fully aware of how to handle it. So the mining algorithm Bitcoin uses is SHA-256. Now in order to successfully mine Bitcoins using this algorithm you often need hash rates well into the gigahashes per second, and generally higher.

In this lecture I want to discuss mining pools with you. Now in general this is a very popular question among those getting started with mining, go solo or go down the route of pool mining? In this lecture I’m going to discuss the pro’s and con’s of each with you, so you’ll be aware of them if any questions regarding mining pools should be appear.

In this lecture we’re going to cover the four most popular mining hardwares. By the end you’ll have a clear understanding of why some hardwares are now obsolete. It’s helpful to understand this for the certification exam.

Welcome to the final lecture in this section. So in regards to security and centralisation for this lecture, the key thing you need to understand is the 51% attack. So that’s what I’m going to be covering with you in this lecture. So lets dive in!

Welcome to the next section in this course, in this section we’re going to be discussing wallets, clients and key management. In this lecture specifically I want to start at a basic level with you, and go over wallet types. Then we’ll move onto more the advanced areas of this section in the following lectures. So lets jump into learning all about wallet types!

So what are Bitcoin clients? Are they the same as Bitcoin wallets? Well, you could say that! Let me go into the difference in this lecture with you.

In this lecture we’re going to go over deterministic wallets, so you have an understanding of how these types of wallets work over other wallets. So i’d like to start by making sure you’re aware that deterministic wallets are simply wallets in which they have a system of deriving keys from a single starting point often known as a seed.

Lets now move onto talking about BIP-38, otherwise known as passphrase encrypted wallets. To break this down into non-technical terms, passphrase encrypted wallets are an industry standard way to encrypt the private key of your Bitcoin wallet with a password. It’s secure in the form that if someone found your encrypted key, they wouldn’t be able to essentially figure it out and access it without knowing your password.

In the final lecture of this section I want to quickly let you know what WIF stands for, then go over how to back up your private keys using the Blockchain wallet as an example, then how you’d restore your wallet should the worst happen.

Welcome to a new section in this Bitcoin certification course. What we’re going to be discussing in this section is Bitcoin commerce, and specifically in this lecture we’re going to discuss Bitcoin merchants. So what options are currently open for businesses both offline and online that want to accept Bitcoin as a form of payment within their business.

So this lectures follows on from the last were I listed the most popular point of sale solutions. What I want to do in this lecture is go over what these point of sale solutions actually are, so lets dive in.

Welcome to the final lecture in this section. What I want to do here is go over the secure payment protocol with you, often known as BIP-70. This BIP was actually introduce to make payments faster, and more secure. So let me go over the three key differentiating factors of BIP-70.

Huge well done on reaching the end of this course! Everything you’re going to be tasked with answering in the exam, has been covered in each and every lecture within this course. So you really are now ready to take that exam.