Glossary

Bitcoin is a digital currency (also called crypto-currency) that is not backed by any country’s central bank or government. Bitcoins can be traded for goods or services with vendors who accept Bitcoins as payment. Bitcoin-to- Bitcoin transactions are made by…

A bitcoin address is a cryptographic key that “owns” bitcoins. This address is used to uniquely identify bitcoins. The person or persons who know the corresponding private key can send those bitcoins to any other address. The cryptographic keys that…

A Bitcoin wallet is a software program where Bitcoins are stored. To be technically accurate, Bitcoins are not stored anywhere; there is a private key (secret number) for every Bitcoin address that is saved in the Bitcoin wallet of the…

A blockchain—the technology underlying bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies—is a shared digital ledger, or a continually updated list of all transactions. This decentralized ledger keeps a record of each transaction that occurs across a fully distributed or peer-to- peer network, either…