Bitcoin

Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency which uses blockchain technology to maintain accurate records of transactions and prevent fraud.

A bitcoin blockchain is a set of data related to a specific Bitcoin. Every time a bitcoin is transacted, a record of that transaction is added to the blockchain as a new block. The blockchain is encrypted and held on many different computers within a distributed ledger system.

Bitcoins must be held in a bitcoin “wallet”, a program which encrypts the data which makes up each bitcoin. The wallet can only be accessed using a private key – a number or alphanumeric sequence which serves as a password.

Bitcoins can be transferred to another bitcoin wallet using a public key. This public key identifies a specific wallet and ensures that all data related to a transaction remains encrypted throughout the entire transfer.

More on this topic:
Online broker comparison