What is Bitcoin?
Bitcoin is the first cryptocurrency and decentralized global payment system - the true OG. Bitcoin was envisioned as an alternative to traditional electronic payment methods, removing the requirement for a central bank or administrator. Transactions on the Bitcoin network are sent between users directly with no intermediary. All transactions are recorded in a public distributed ledger referred to as a blockchain. Blockchain is an immutable append-only data structure. Each block uses the previous block's hash to create its own hash. Blockchain is a stateless protocol, with each block representing a state change and containing a summary of all the transactions in the block over a given time frame (block time). Bitcoin is powered by a distributed network of validators providing computational power to “mine” blocks on the blockchain. Mined BTC can be exchanged for other currencies, products, and services. Beyond its inception as a digital currency, Bitcoin has attracted many investors to explore its functionality as a store of value instrument, reaching an all-time high $1.1 trillion market cap in March 2021.
