Consensus between nodes is achieved using a computationally intensive process based on proof of work, called mining, that guarantees the security of the Bitcoin blockchain. Mining consumes large quantities of electricity and has been criticized for its environmental effects.

Based on a free market ideology, bitcoin was invented in 2008 by Satoshi Nakamoto, an unknown person. Use of Bitcoin as a currency began in 2009, with the release of its open-source implementation. In 2021, El Salvador adopted it as legal tender. Bitcoin is currently used more as a store of value and less as a medium of exchange or unity of account. It is mostly seen as an investment and has been described by many scholars as an economic bubble. As bitcoin is pseudonymous, its use by criminals has attracted the attention of regulators, leading to its ban by several countries as of 2021.