#BitcoinBasics Bitcoin (BTC) is the digital currency that launched the crypto revolution, but it emerged from one small cryptography mailing list in 2008. While Bitcoin itself is attributed to Satoshi Nakamoto, the endeavor was borne of the cryptography community’s long-standing interest in creating a decentralized, private electronic currency. Now, Bitcoin is managed in a decentralized fashion by a global, open network of stakeholders through a process called rough consensus.

Introduction to Bitcoin

Bitcoin is a digital currency that was designed to challenge historical norms regarding the way money is issued and the means by which transactions are conducted online. The core principle that makes Bitcoin so revolutionary is its embrace of decentralization — on both the technical and operational level. Bitcoin does not have a CEO or a central banker at its helm and, in fact, is not controlled by any single person or entity. Nonetheless, Bitcoin was created by someone and is governed by a variety of community stakeholders through a system that is referred to as rough consensus.

Eventually, changes are proposed as software updates, written by developers. Bitcoin development is done collaboratively and openly, and any developer can contribute. When software updates are released, those running the Bitcoin software can choose whether to accept the change and update their software, or to reject it and continue running their current version. Bitcoin developers strive to make software updates “backwards compatible,” meaning that the software will continue to work even if users do not update to the latest version.

In the instance that there is widespread disagreement on the adoption of new proposals, Bitcoin has been known to fork. A fork is when the nodes that support a blockchain network split into two different networks with two separate native digital assets. The creation of Bitcoin Cash (BCH) in 2017 is perhaps the most notable example of this phenomenon.