What is Bitcoin?

Bitcoin is a digital asset and a payment system. It is commonly called a decentralized digital currency.
It was invented by Satoshi Nakamoto in 2009.
It is an open source software. This means, that no person, company or country owns this network just like no one owns the Internet.
The system is peer-to-peer, that is, users can transact directly without an intermediary like a bank, a credit card company or a clearing house.
Transactions are verified by network nodes and recorded in a public distributed ledger called the blockchain.