bitcoin

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Bitcoin (BTC) is a digital currency first described in a 2008 paper by pseudonymous developer Satoshi Nakamoto, who
called it a peer-to-peer, electronic cash system.

Bitcoin creation and transfer is based on an open source
cryptographic protocol and is not managed by
any central authority.
Each bitcoin is
subdivided down to eight
decimal places, forming
100 million smaller units called satoshis.

Bitcoin is an experimental,
decentralized digital currency that enables instant payments to
anyone, anywhere in the
world. Bitcoin uses peer- to-peer technology to
operate with no central
authority: managing
transactions and issuing
money are carried out
collectively by the network. The original Bitcoin
software by Satoshi Nakamoto was released under the MIT license.
Most client software,
derived or "from
scratch", also use open
source licensing. Bitcoin is one of the first
implementations of a
concept called crypto-
currency which was first
described in 1998 by Wei
Dai on the cypherpunks mailing list. Building upon
the notion that money is
any object, or any sort
of record, accepted as
payment for goods and
services and repayment of debts in a given
country or socio-
economic context,
Bitcoin is designed
around the idea of using
cryptography to control the creation and transfer
of money, rather than
relying on central
authorities. Sourced from Bitcoin.org and Wikipedia.