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Key pointsBitcoin is an electronic currency known as a cryptocurrencyThe peer-to-peer technology underpinning it's known as the blockchain a people ledger of all transactionsBitcoins can be stored in a virtual wallet and used to buy other currencies or real world goods

Where once a single bitcoin has been worth a few cents it's now worth about $9,200 per coin (November 2017), creating millionaires in the process.There have been many reported instances where people mined thousands of comparatively worthless bitcoins as a hobby years ago, only to now realise they are rich.One IT employee even threw out a hard drive containing 7,500 bitcoins.

This is done with no central authority or bank.Who generated itBitcoin and the blockchain technology was created by someone under the pseudonym of Satoshi Nakamoto and published as a working beta in 2009. Satoshi's true identity remains a puzzle as he vanished from the scene in 2010 after seemingly handing over the reins to Gavin Andresen, the chief scientist at the Bitcoin Foundation.Over the years numerous people have claimed to become Satoshi, including Australian computer scientist Craig Wright.

Once the limit is reached, no more bitcoins can be made.However, a single bitcoin can be subdivided as far down as the eighth decimal place (0.00000001BTC) to buy smaller goods using just a fraction of the coin.How would you shop or send bitcoinYou can shop and send bitcoins from an encrypted digital wallet, which can be run as a program on your computer.The wallet works with two keys a private key and a public key which look like a seemingly random string of numbers and letters.The private key is kept confidential by you and acts as a password that unlocks the wallet and allows you to send any bitcoins associated with that.

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If the web site gets hacked or someone gets your login information that they could get and drain your funds from the exchange.There is no way for a transaction to be revoked or revoked if a burglar sends your bitcoins to their wallet.After buying your coins you should transfer additional reading them to a secure digital pocket made by you and not hosted online.You can even write down the pocket's personal key on a piece of paper (that is known as a paper wallet) and stick it in a safe.If you don't save the personal key on your computer or online then recipients can never break in and get your funds.

Bitcoin means different things to different people. For some, it is a future of moving currency untied to any central bank. To others, it is a purely digital entity of questionable value and doubtful origin. However, what's Bitcoin, in the most basic senseIn most casual conversations, you can get away with knowing that bitcoin is, basically, a digital currency.

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In fact, it is two much more complicated things.Bitcoin has been with us since 2009, when a person (or group) under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto introduced a stage (Bitcoin, uppercase) that hosts a digital currency (bitcoin, lowercase). Bitcoin the platform is built on the concept of evidence of work data that is expensive and time-intensive to produce but can be readily verified.

To mine a bitcoin, a computer has to finish a complicated algorithm, essentially going through the work of an extensive calculation in exchange for some newly minted currency. That piece of digital currency is worth whatever the market decides through supply and demand.Transactions are connected to a users Bitcoin address, which is stored on its general ledger, known as the blockchain.

This comparative anonymity makes the platform appealing for things like incognito purchases over the internet.A key component of Bitcoins blockchain is the fact it is an open, distributed ledger. Throughout the distributed nature of the ledger, the transactions on the blockchain are confirmed from the consensus of every member, offering protection and trust with no third-party overseer.One of the most important things to bear in mind when thinking about what Bitcoin (or bitcoin) is: that there is no single answer.