Sandra Abrams explains Bitcoin as a decentralized digital currency with no physical form, verified by computing power instead of banks. Balances use public keys as addresses and private keys like ATM PINs. Bitcoin inspired thousands of alternative cryptocurrencies.
Currencies. There are no physical Bitcoins, only balances kept on a public ledger that everyone has transparent access to. That, along with all Bitcoin transactions, is verified by a massive amount of computing power. Bitcoins are not issued or backed by any banks or governments, nor are individual Bitcoins valuable as a commodity, despite it not being legal tender. Bitcoin charts high on popularity and has triggered the launch of hundreds of other virtual currencies collectively referred to as altcoins. Balances of Bitcoin tokens are kept using public and private keys, which are long strings of numbers and letters linked through the mathematical encryption algorithm that was used to create them. The public key, comparable to a bank account number, serves as the address which is published to the world and to which others may send Bitcoins. The private key, comparable to an ATM pin, is meant to be a garage.
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