Bitcoin is a decentralized digital currency, without a central bank that can be sent from user to user on the peer-to-peer bitcoin network without the need for intermediaries.
Transactions are verified by network nodes through cryptography and recorded in a public distributed ledger called a blockchain.
The cryptocurrency was invented in 2008 by an unknown person or group of people using the name Satoshi Nakamoto.
The currency began use in 2009 when its implement-ation was released as open-source software.
Bitcoins are created as a reward for a process known as mining.