Bitcoin
Bitcoin is a digital asset, or cryptocurrency, that is widely considered the world’s first broadly adopted crypto token and is credited for ushering in the blockchain industry as we know it today. Bitcoin started when a pseudo-anonymous developer named Satoshi Nakamoto published the Bitcoin white paper and launched the first decentralized digital currency into the world. 14 years later, there are more than 10,000 cryptocurrencies in circulation with a market capitalization that crossed the $2 trillion mark in April 2021.
The Bitcoin network is not only the first mainstream blockchain use case, but is often considered the most decentralized. The network enables secure and direct peer-to-peer transactions, where participants can send and receive funds without intermediaries. It utilizes cryptographic techniques to verify and record transactions on the Bitcoin blockchain, ensuring transparency and immutability.