Bitcoin is a digital currency that was created in Jan 2009. It follows the ideas commenced in a whitepaper by the mysterious and onymous Satoshi Nakamoto. Bitcoin is a kind of cryptocurrency. There aren't any physical bitcoins, solely balances kept on a public ledger that everybody has clear access to. All bitcoin transactions are verified by a huge quantity of computing power. Bitcoins aren't issued or backed by any banks or governments, nor are individual bitcoins valuable as a commodity. Despite it not being legal tender, Bitcoin is extremely popular and has triggered the launch of many alternative cryptocurrencies, collectively named as altcoins. Bitcoin is commonly abbreviated as "BTC."