Bitcoin is the world’s first widely-adopted cryptocurrency with which people can securely and directly send each other digital money on the Internet.

Bitcoin (BTC) was developed by Satoshi Nakamoto, a person or group operating under a pseudonym who first described the concept in a white paper in 2008. Bitcoin transactions are difficult to reverse and challenging to forge since every transaction is recorded on a public ledger that is available to everyone.

Each Bitcoin is essentially a computer file that is kept on a computer or smartphone in a “digital wallet” app. People can send you Bitcoins (or a portion of one), and you can send Bitcoins to other people using your digital wallet.

Bitcoin is an attractive form of investment for people who do not want their money to be controlled by the government or banks, forming the core decentralization feature of the currency.

Additionally, Bitcoin may be used quite anonymously. Even though every transaction is logged, unless you told someone, they wouldn’t know which “account number” belonged to you.

Most people use cryptocurrency exchanges to purchase Bitcoin. You can purchase, sell, and hold the cryptocurrency on exchanges. Similar to opening a brokerage account, opening an account requires you to submit proof of your identification and a financing source, such as a bank account or debit card.

Major crypto exchanges include Coinbase, Kraken, and Gemini. Bitcoin can also be bought from an online broker like Robinhood.