To cut through < some of the confusion surrounding bitcoin <, we need to separate it into two < components. On the one hand >, you have bitcoin-the-token, > a snippet of code that represents ownership of a < digital concept – sort of like a virtual IOU. > On the other hand, you have bitcoin-the-protocol,< a distributed network that maintains a < ledger of balances of bitcoin-the-token. < Both are referred to as “bitcoin.”
The system enables payments > to be sent between users without passing through a < central authority, such as a bank or payment gateway. > It is created and held electronically.< Bitcoins aren’t printed, like dollars or euros – they’re produced by computers* all around the world, using free > software.
It was the first example > of what we today call cryptocurrencies <, a growing asset < class that shares some characteristics < of traditional currencies,< with verification based on cryptography.>
A pseudonymous > software developer going by the name of < Satoshi Nakamoto proposed bitcoin in 2008 <, as an electronic payment system > based on mathematical proof. The idea was to produce a means of exchange,> independent of any central authority <, that could be transferred electronically in a secure,> verifiable and immutable way.>