Imagine a special digital safe (the Bitcoin protocol – a set of rules and code) that was built by a mysterious figure named Satoshi. This safe isn't like any other; it's designed to be completely self-operating (it runs on its own, without anyone in charge) and incredibly secure.
Satoshi, the builder of this safe, was also the very first miner. Being the first to discover a new "block" (a page in the safe's record book), the safe's own rules automatically awarded Satoshi 50 Bitcoins. This is how the very first Bitcoins came into existence – not by being printed, but by being generated by the safe's protocol as a reward for securing it.
Soon after, Satoshi decided to transfer 10 Bitcoins to a friend as a test. This was the first time Bitcoin truly moved between two people. For this to happen, Satoshi used a special digital key (their private key – a secret code that proves ownership) to sign the transaction. The safe then recorded that 10 Bitcoins were taken from Satoshi and given to the friend, updating its internal record.
After this initial test, the "safe" (the Bitcoin application code) was shared with the entire world. Now, anyone can run a copy of this safe (become a node – a computer running the Bitcoin software that helps maintain the network). Each node holds a full, identical copy of the safe's complete record book (the blockchain – a shared, unbreakable digital ledger of all Bitcoin transactions).
When you "buy" Bitcoin today – say, 1 Bitcoin for 1 dollar – you're typically buying it from another person who already owns Bitcoin. Your dollar goes directly to them, and the safe's rules update the record, showing that you now own that 1 Bitcoin.
And what about the miners? They are like the security guards of this self-operating safe. They use powerful computers to solve complex cryptographic puzzles (a kind of digital guessing game to find a specific pattern) to secure the safe and add new pages to its record book. For their hard work, the safe's rules automatically reward them with newly generated Bitcoins and transaction fees from the people sending Bitcoin
