Bitcoin is defined as an early digital cash that started the cryptocurrency movement. It was created in 2009 by an unknown person or group who went by the name, Satoshi Nakamoto.
Bitcoin is unique because it does not rely on government/bank created money. In addition, transactions occur directly between pseudonymous people (their real names are not known), meaning there are no banks or middlemen.
Each transaction is recorded on a digital record kept by many people across the world known as the “blockchain”. The data on the blockchain is publicly available and stored on many computers. Because there are so many copies being simultaneously maintained, the transaction and banking data is very safe and virtually impossible to manipulate.
Individuals protect their bitcoins using their digital wallet. A wallet is software that can only be accessed by using a key, which is a long string of letters and numbers. Bitcoin’s price has risen into the thousands of dollars, but you can still own bitcoin by purchasing a fraction of it for dollars.
Because of bitcoin’s popularity, it has become an anchor in the cryptocurrency market. That means, as the price of bitcoin goes up and down, the prices of other cryptocurrencies move too.