It's a technological revolution, a new form of gold, a financial bubble or a scam. Bitcoin can be all of this, or none of it depends on who defines it. One thing is certain, this is the technical and financial phenomenon of the year. Answers to existential questions posed by bitcoin.
■ Well, bitcoin, what is it exactly?
A virtual currency created on the basis of a working document published in 2008 and in general indifference by Satoshi Nakamoto, a pseudonym behind which hides an individual or individuals never identified until then. Bitcoin is based on a decentralized network of computers that verify transactions between two parties, as would a bank or a central authority. Each new operation is added in a tamper-proof register, the blockchain. To hold bitcoin is to have a secret key proving to any network user that this bitcoin is held.
