Bitcoin

Bitcoin is a payment system invented by Satoshi Nakamoto, who

published the invention in 2008 and released it as open-source

software in 2009. Bitcoin is more correctly described as the

first decentralized digital currency. It is the largest of its

kind in terms of total market value. Bitcoins are created as a

reward for payment processing work in which users offer their

computing power to verify and record payments into the public

ledger. This activity is called mining. The use of bitcoin by

criminals has attracted the attention of financial regulators,

legislative bodies, law enforcement, and media. Criminal

activities are primarily centered around black markets and theft.