$BTC Bitcoin is a decentralized cryptocurrency and a payment system that does not require a central bank or a single administrator for its operation, as it operates through a network of peer-to-peer nodes that verify transactions through cryptography and record them in a public ledger called blockchain. Consensus among nodes is achieved through a computationally intensive process based on the proof-of-work system known as 'mining', which ensures the security of the blockchain. Based on a free market ideology, the cryptocurrency was conceived in 2008 by a person or group of people under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto, whose concrete identity is unknown. In 2009, its implementation was presented as open-source code and the peer-to-peer network began to operate a year later.