#BitcoinHashRateSurge

Bitcoin is the first decentralized cryptocurrency. Based on a free-market ideology, bitcoin was invented in 2008 by Satoshi Nakamoto, an unknown person. Use of bitcoin as a currency began in 2009, with the release of its open-source implementation.

As a decentralized system, bitcoin operates without a central authority or single administrator, so that anyone can create a new bitcoin address and transact without needing any approval. This is accomplished through a specialized distributed ledger called a blockchain that records bitcoin transactions.

The blockchain is implemented as an ordered list of blocks. Each block contains a SHA-256 hash of the previous block, chaining them in chronological order. The blockchain is maintained by a peer-to-peer network. Individual blocks, public addresses, and transactions within blocks are public information, and can be examined using a blockchain explorer.