The Bitcoin Network is the first successful implementation of blockchain technology. The term "blockchain technology" typically refers to the transparent, trustless, publicly accessible ledger that allows us to securely transfer the ownership of units of value using public key encryption and proof of work methods. The technology uses decentralized consensus to maintain the network, which means it is not centrally controlled by a bank, corporation, or government. In fact, the larger the network grows and becomes increasingly decentralized, the more secure it becomes. The potential for blockchain technology is not limited to bitcoin. As such, it has gained a lot of attention in a variety of industries including: financial services, charities and nonprofits, the arts, and e-commerce. To learn more about the inner-workings of the Bitcoin Network, check out this article.

Our wallet is built on an HD (or hierarchical deterministic) framework, which is the industry standard for bitcoin address generation and management. Each public address your wallet generates stems from your wallet's xPub (or Extended Public Key). Once your public address receives an incoming payment, a new address will automatically be generated and display when you click on receive. If you use the same address each time you receive funds, it becomes easy for anyone to track your entire payment history. This method of address generation improves privacy by automatically presenting you with a new address when you’re expecting payment. Advanced Users: Our wallet implements BIP44 to generate accounts and addresses, and the recovery mnemonic/seed (present in legacy wallets created in 2016 and prior) implements BIP39. The seed is compatible with other BIP44/BIP39 bitcoin wallets.

Bitcoin can often refer to two things. First, the Bitcoin network that keeps track of our transactions and balances, and second, the currency that we use as the unit of value when we transact. We'll cover both here. The Bitcoin Network Bitcoin's payment network (also called the bitcoin blockchain) is what makes it possible for us to transact with one another. The network uses distributed consensus to verify and confirm transactions, and consensus is reached via a large global network of high-performance computers (called miners) running the bitcoin software.

Bitcoin’s existence began with an academic paper written in 2008 by a developer under the name of Satoshi Nakamoto. The paper described the foundation for what was intended to be a peer-to-peer electronic cash system that was secure, affordable, and efficient far beyond conventional banking standards. The system Satoshi described was developed into open-source software and the first bitcoin transaction (also known as the Genesis Block) was confirmed on January 3, 2009.