A Digital Currency Made for the Future
Money is a deeply human phenomenon. Across the centuries, humans have used money, watching it take on different shapes and forms. Sometimes it comes as precious shells, other times as rare minerals such as gold and silver. In more recent times, this has manifested itself in the form of paper bills issued by governments and centralised organisations.
These paper bills, while often useful, heavily depend upon trusting issuing bodies not to renege on the promises behind them, especially when it comes to security and retaining value.
Built in response to this trust-dependent framework, Bitcoin was born. As a digital currency that operates independently from any centralised institution, the crypto-currency relies instead on peer-to-peer software and cryptography to function.
Because it is not, and cannot be managed by any central authority, Bitcoin is effectively trustless, private, and secure. It depends on a publicly shared ledger that records all transactions, with multiple copies held on servers across the globe.
Today, millions of dollars' worth of Bitcoin exchange hands every day. The cryptocurrency is widely lauded as “digital gold”, with pundits comparing it to the safe haven properties of physical gold.