Cryptocurrency is digital money secured by cryptography.

It isn’t controlled by banks or governments, meaning you can send value directly to anyone, anywhere in the world, online. Transactions are recorded on a public ledger called a blockchain, making them transparent and hard to tamper with. Bitcoin was the first crypto, introduced in 2009, and thousands of others have since emerged.

People use crypto for fast global payments and as an investment. While the technology may seem complex, its core idea is simple: it lets people trade value on the internet without needing permission from or trust in a central authority.