It's not an true coin, it's "cryptocurrency," a digital type of payment that's made ("mined") by a lot of people worldwide. It enables peer-to-peer transactions immediately, world... moreIt's not an true coin, it's "cryptocurrency," a digital type of payment that's made ("mined") by a lot of people worldwide. It enables peer-to-peer transactions immediately, world wide, free of charge or at very low cost. Bitcoin was developed after decades of research into cryptography by computer software creator, Satoshi Nakamoto (believed to become a pseudonym), who designed the algorithm and introduced it in 2009. His correct identification remains a mystery. That currency isn't backed by a tangible item (such as silver or silver); bitcoins are dealt online which makes them a product in themselves. Bitcoin can be an open-source item, available by anybody who is a user.All you need can be an email address, Internet access, and money to have started. Bitcoin is mined on a spread pc system of users working specific pc software; the system handles certain mathematical proofs, and pursuit of a particular knowledge series ("block") that produces a certain pattern once the BTC algorithm is placed on it.... less