Bitcoin (BTC) is a form of digital currency that runs on a distributed network of computers.
You can’t hold bitcoins n your hand as you would with traditional currency.
Instead, bitcoin is created and held in digital form and relies on cryptography for security.
Because it is a digital currency, bitcoin is pretty much like email for money.
Just like how you can create an email address to send, store, and receive messages, you can also create a Bitcoin wallet to send, store, and receive money.
And just like with email, all you need is a smartphone and an internet connection.
Bitcoin is a decentralized currency, meaning it is not controlled by a single entity (like a central bank). Nobody controls it.
It was the world’s first cryptocurrency with the first Bitcoin block, known as the genesis block (or block 0), being mined on January 3, 2009.
The digital currency is referred to as bitcoin (with lower “b”) or simply BTC.
Bitcoin was created by a person (or group) under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto.
The idea was to create a unique digital payment system that would permit borderless financial transactions to occur without the need for mediators like banks or governments.
The promise of Bitcoin is that it can become a global payment platform that is not in the control of any company, government, or special interest (other than the developers and miners of the Bitcoin community).