Bitcoin is a digital asset designed to work as a medium of exchange that uses cryptography to control its creation and management, rather than depending on central authorities. The creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, wrote the original white paper in November 2008 and the Bitcoin network came into existence in January of 2009.

Bitcoin is the first decentralized peer-to-peer payment network that is powered by its users with no central authority or middlemen. Bitcoin was the first practical implementation and is currently the most prominent triple entry bookkeeping system in existence.