Stock Photo - Hands full of Bitcoins. BItcoins are a cryptocurrency, a type of digital currency, and a payment system without a central bank or sole administrator. In principle, bitcoin users can transfer money to each other over a peer-to-peer network using free and open-source software. The transactions are verified and cryptographically guarded by a decentralized network of voluntary nodes, which record the history of the accounts in a public database known as the blockchain, which prevents double spending or the falsification of money. It was conceived in 2008 by an entity known under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto, 10 whose specific identity is unknown. Satoshi worked on the source code of the reference application alongside other volunteer developers until December 2010, at which point he decided to conclude its public activity and leave its development to the responsibility of the community.