Bitcoin is a digital currency built on a new technology
called the block chain.
Block chains have many potential uses but
first let's talk about how the Bitcoin currency works.
To send money now you have to go through a central authority like a bank.
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It’s public. Anyone can see money sent to or from the address. It’s also anonymous. No one knows this address is you unless you tell them.
You keep your key secret, and can share your address.
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That's you
Your lucky recipient
Your transaction gets added to a ledger that anyone can look at.
Computers compete to package these transactions into solid unchangable blocks.
Packaging is hard work. It’s usually done by special computers dedicated to the task.
All the other computers check to make sure the new block is correct.
The new block becomes part of a chain that includes all older blocks. This is the block chain.
The hard work it takes to package each block, makes it near impossible to change the history of records.