Bitcoin permanently changed how value can be transferred.

It is the first blockchain-based network, allowing value transfer without intermediaries. Launched in 2009, it makes use of decades of efforts to create a digital currency, and remains the most valuable digital asset network.1 Bitcoin’s foundation includes three pillars: 

1 - Transparent: Bitcoin’s blockchain is a publicly available digital ledger—stored in tens of thousands of computers (nodes)—that maintains all confirmed transactions.

2 - Decentralized: Bitcoin users around the world run nodes to transfer value over the internet, as well as validate and update information on the Bitcoin blockchain.

3 - Immutable: Bitcoin’s network requires a computational cost for users seeking to update its ledger, making it cost prohibitive to alter blockchain transactions.