$BTC

Bitcoin is the first successful form of internet money based on peer-to-peer technology, which means that no central bank or authority is involved in the transaction or the creation of Bitcoin. It was created by an anonymous individual or group known as Satoshi Nakamoto. The source code is publicly available as an open-source project, allowing anyone to review it and participate in its development.

Bitcoin is currently transforming the way we perceive money. Its purpose is to provide a means of exchange that operates independently of any central authority, enabling secure, verifiable, and immutable electronic transactions. This decentralized peer-to-peer currency facilitates easy mobile payments, incurs very low transaction fees, protects user identities, and operates globally without reliance on central banks.

Bitcoin is designed to have a maximum supply of 21 million BTC, making it a deflationary currency. It utilizes the SHA-256 hashing algorithm, with an average transaction confirmation time of around 10 minutes. Miners today employ ASIC chips dedicated solely to Bitcoin mining, and the hash rate has skyrocketed to peta hashes.

As the first successful cryptocurrency, Bitcoin has inspired the creation of alternative currencies such as Litecoin, Peercoin, and Primecoin. Furthermore, the introduction of Turing-complete smart contracts by Ethereum has led to the development of other innovative projects like EOS and Tron, as well as crypto-collectibles such as CryptoKitties.