Bitcoin is a peer-to-peer
payment network and digital currency based on an open source
protocol, which makes use of a public transaction log. Bitcoin was introduced in 2009 by pseudonymous developer Satoshi Nakamoto. It is called a
cryptocurrency as it uses public-key cryptography. When paying with bitcoin, there will be no exchange of digital notes or
tokens between buyer and seller. Instead, the buyer requests an update
to a public transaction log, the blockchain. This master list of all transactions shows who owns what bitcoins currently and in the past and is maintained by a decentralized network that verifies and timestamps payments.
The operators of this network, known as "miners", are rewarded with transaction fees and newly minted bitcoins.