Bitcoin (₿) is a decentralized virtual currency, without a central financial institution or single administrator, that can be sent from consumer to user on the peer-to-peer bitcoin community without intermediaries. Through cryptography, transactions are proven via network nodes and recorded in a public distributed ledger known as a blockchain. The cryptocurrency was invented in 2008 via an unknown person or organization of people using the name Satoshi Nakamoto. The currency commenced use in 2009 while its implementation was launched as open-source software.
Bitcoins are created as a reward for a method called mining and can be exchanged for other currencies, merchandise, and services. Bitcoin has been criticized for its use in illegal transactions, the significant amount of electricity (and thus carbon footprint) used by mining, fee volatility, and thefts from exchanges. Some people ...