Bitcoin was the first cryptocurrency to appear, and it remains the most popular. Satoshi Nakamoto, a pseudonymous developer, established it in 2009. The fundamental idea was to create an autonomous and decentralised electronic payment system based on mathematical proofs and encryption. While Bitcoin is the most well-known, it is far from the only cryptocurrency. There are several varieties of cryptocurrencies, each with its own set of characteristics and activities. However, not all of them have their own blockchain, thus some have been built on top of an existing one.
Bitcoin is a network of computers called nodes that collaborate to execute the Bitcoin code and store the blockchain. A blockchain may be thought of as a series of blocks. Each block contains a transaction sequence. Nobody can monitor the process because all computers running the blockchain use the same block and transaction list and can view these fresh blocks loaded with new Bitcoin transactions in real time. Anyone, whether or not they operate a Bitcoin "node," may view these transactions in real time. To commit a crime, a bad actor will need to control 51% of the processing power that makes up Bitcoin. Bitcoin has about 47,000 nodes as of May 2020.