Trent Fowler is a noted keynote speaker on blockchain, cryptocurrency, and futurism. And he is also the co-host of the Futurati Podcast. Reach out here if you’re interested in booking him as a speaker for your event or as a blockchain consultant.

If you’ve explored bitcoin at all you’ve probably found its transactions confusing. What’s a UTXO and why does all this stuff make my head feel like it’s going to explode? Well, you’re going to need to figure out the basics if you want to use bitcoin safely.

Luckily, I can help.

(This video is about how transactions work. But if you have more generic questions about the blockchain as a whole check out the first video in this series, “What is the blockchain?”)

I want to start with an analogy to show you why you should care about this.

Imagine having a magical check from the Bank of Gringotts in Harry Potter that somehow knows whether or not a signature is authentic. 

I could write a million dollar check to my friend Nick and know that no one but Nick can use it. 

Someone could practice his signature for years, but the check will still magically know that it’s a forgery. 

So I would have a way of sending money to people, knowing that it will only be usable by them, with no possibility of it being intercepted.

That is the power of bitcoin transactions.

But their inner workings can still be confusing (especially the ‘unspent transaction output’ model)

Watch the video above for a step-by-step explanation of how all of this works.

And if you have any questions (or want to book me as a keynote speaker), feel free to drop me a line!