Bitcoin (₿) is a cryptocurrency, a form of electronic cash. It was designed to work as a decentralized digital currency without a central bank or single administrator, though in practice many aspects of its use are centralized.[8]:215, 219-222[9]:3
Bitcoins can be sent from user to user on the peer-to-peer bitcoin network directly, without the need for intermediaries, though intermediaries are widely used.[8]:220-222 Transactions are verified by network nodes through cryptography and recorded in a public distributed ledger called a blockchain. Bitcoin was invented by an unknown person or group of people using the name Satoshi Nakamoto[10] and released as open-source software in 2009.[11] Bitcoins are created as a reward for a process known as mining. They can be exchanged for other currencies,[12] products, and services. Research produced by the University of Cambridge estimates that in 2017, there were 2.9 to 5.8 million unique users using a cryptocurrency wallet, most of them using bitcoin.[13]
Bitcoin has been criticized for its use in illegal transactions, its high electricity consumption, price volatility, and thefts from exchanges.[14] Several regulatory agencies have issued investor alerts about bitcoin.[15] Many economists have said that bitcoin is an economic bubble.
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