#عملة_البيتكوين #Bitcoinis the first decentralized digital currency, without a central bank, that can be sent from person to person via the Bitcoin network in a peer-to-peer manner without the need for a third party (an intermediary such as a bank). Network transfers are verified using cryptography and recorded in a distributed ledger called the blockchain. Bitcoin is created as a reward for a process known as mining. It can be exchanged for other currencies, products and services. Research produced by the University of Cambridge estimates that in 2017, there were between 2.9 and 5.8 million users using a digital currency wallet, most of whom use Bitcoin.
Bitcoin has been criticized for its potential use in illegal transactions, the high amount of electricity used to mine new Bitcoins, the volatility of the exchange rate, and hacks of Bitcoin exchanges. Some economists have described it as a "speculative bubble".
The Bitcoin network has been running since 2009 and has not stopped since then, and because of the consensus system in the currency, no one has been able to hack the Bitcoin blockchain, and most of the hacks that occur are due to human errors in managing the wallet and not due to design flaws.