Bitcoin was invented by the mysterious Satoshi Nakamoto in 2008 and released as open-source software in early 2009. The first transaction took place between Nakamoto and an early adopter of bitcoin in January 2009. The first real-world transaction happened in 2010 when a bitcoin miner bought two pizzas from a Papa John's in Florida for 10,000 bitcoins.3
The currency is based upon a blockchain that contains a public ledger of all the transactions in the bitcoin network. Those participating in the currency can mine for bitcoins using computer power. Initial interest in the currency was small, particularly among cryptographers and those seeking to engage in transactions that could not be easily traced.
