Overview
Bitcoin is a decentralized cryptocurrency that was invented in 2008 by an unknown person using the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto, with the goal of creating a free-market ideology, similar to the concepts discussed by economists like Friedrich Hayek and Milton Friedman. It was released as open-source software in 2009, and has since become a widely recognized form of digital currency, with companies like Microsoft and Dell accepting it as payment, and exchanges like Coinbase and Binance facilitating its trade.