What is Bitcoin?

Bitcoin is the first-ever cryptocurrency, a digital and encrypted form of traditional money. It emerged in 2009 as an independent financial system, which was not regulated by central banks. Unlike physical currencies, bitcoin has no centralised authority or physical monetary representation. Instead, it exists as digital information stored in a distributed database known as the blockchain.

Bitcoin’s innovative nature eliminates the need for a trusted intermediary, like banks, for secure value transfers. It revolutionises value transmission, akin to how email transformed information sharing and the World Wide Web reshaped image transfer. In essence, bitcoin represents the next step in the world of finance.

1 February 2020