$BTC O Bitcoin operates through the collaboration of computers, each of which acts as a node in the Bitcoin peer-to-peer network. Each node maintains an independent copy of a distributed public ledger of transactions, called the blockchain, without central oversight. Transactions are validated through the use of cryptography, making it virtually impossible for one person to spend another person's Bitcoin, as long as the owner of the Bitcoin keeps certain sensitive data secret.

Consensus among the nodes about the content of the blockchain is achieved using a computationally intensive process based on proof of work, called mining.