### What is Bitcoin?

In 2008, amidst a global financial crisis, an individual using the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto published a white paper titled "Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System" on November 1st. This marked the inception of Bitcoin. By January 3, 2009, the Bitcoin Genesis Block was created.

Unlike traditional currency, Bitcoin is not issued by a central authority. Instead, it is generated by network nodes through computational processes. Anyone with a computer can mine, buy, sell, or receive Bitcoin, and transactions are pseudonymous, keeping user identities private. Bitcoin operates on a decentralized ledger known as the blockchain, maintained collectively by a network of miners who use computational power to solve complex cryptographic puzzles.

The creation of new Bitcoins occurs through a process called "mining," where computers solve mathematical problems to validate and record transactions on the blockchain. Successful miners are rewarded with newly created Bitcoins. Initially, the block reward was 50 Bitcoins, but this amount halves approximately every four years. This halving will continue until the maximum supply of 21 million Bitcoins is reached, projected to occur around 2140.

### Key Points About Bitcoin

1. **Decentralized Creation and Distribution**

- Bitcoin is created by network nodes through computational work, not by a centralized entity. This allows anyone with the necessary hardware to participate in Bitcoin's creation and transaction processes.

2. **Pseudonymous Transactions**

- Transactions can be conducted globally on any internet-connected computer without revealing the identity of the users involved.

3. **Mining and Block Rewards**

- Miners use computers to solve cryptographic puzzles, and the first to solve the puzzle gets to add a new block to the blockchain and is rewarded with new Bitcoins. This process secures the network and keeps it running.

4. **Blockchain Technology**

- Bitcoin transactions are recorded on a public ledger called the blockchain.