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Bitcoin (BTC) is a decentralized cryptocurrency that was first described in a 2008 whitepaper by an individual or group of individuals using the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto. Launched in January 2009, Bitcoin is a peer-to-peer online currency that enables transactions to occur directly between equal, independent network participants without the need for an intermediary. Bitcoin was created with the intention of allowing online payments to be sent directly from one party to another without going through a financial institution. Bitcoin is the first-ever cryptocurrency to come into actual use and has inspired the development of thousands of competing projects. The entire cryptocurrency market, now worth more than $2 trillion, is based on the idea realized by Bitcoin: money that can be sent and received by anyone, anywhere in the world without reliance on trusted intermediaries, such as banks and financial services companies.

Bitcoin operates on a technology known as blockchain, a decentralized ledger of all transactions that is used to record transactions across many computers so that any involved record cannot be altered retroactively, without the alteration of all subsequent blocks. Bitcoin transactions are verified by network nodes through cryptography and recorded on the blockchain. Bitcoin mining, the process by which new bitcoins are entered into circulation, involves solving computationally difficult puzzles to discover a new block, which is added to the blockchain. The supply of Bitcoin is limited and will never exceed 21,000,000 coins. New coins are created during the process known as mining, where transactions are added to blocks, which are in turn added to the blockchain.

Bitcoin's most unique advantage is that it was the first cryptocurrency to appear on the market. It has managed to create a global community and has given birth to an entirely new industry of millions of enthusiasts who create, invest in, trade, and use Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in their everyday lives. Bitcoin's primary use case is as a decentralized store of value. In other words, it provides for ownership rights as a physical asset or as a unit of account. Bitcoin also aims to be a medium of exchange for goods and services, although it is currently used more for the former than the latter.

Bitcoin's original inventor is known under a pseudonym, Satoshi Nakamoto. As of 2021, the true identity of the person — or organization — that is behind the alias remains unknown. On October 31, 2008, Nakamoto published Bitcoin’s whitepaper, which described in detail how a peer-to-peer, online currency could be implemented. Just two months later, on January 3, 2009, Nakamoto mined the first block on the Bitcoin network, known as the genesis block, thus launching the world’s first cryptocurrency. The first known Bitcoin commercial transaction occurred on May 22, 2010, when programmer Laszlo Hanyecz traded 10,000 Bitcoins for two pizzas. This event is now known as “Bitcoin Pizza Day.” Over the years a large number of people have contributed to improving the cryptocurrency’s software by patching vulnerabilities and adding new features. Bitcoin’s source code repository on GitHub lists more than 750 contributors.