Bitcoin and decentralised trust protocols (Q502068)

Summary: Bitcoin is the first decentralised peer-to-peer (P2P) electronic currency. It was created in November 2008 by Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonym of the anonymous author or group of authors of the associated groundbreaking article [\textit{S. Nakamoto}, ``Bitcoin: a peer-to-peer electronic cash system'', Preprint, \url{https://www.bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf}]. \textit{S. Nakamoto} released the first implementation of the protocol in open source client software [``Bitcoin v0.1'', html page, \url{http://www.metzdowd.com/pipermail/cryptography/2009-January/014994.html}], bringing about the genesis of bitcoins on 9 January 2009. The bitcoin protocol is based on clever ideas that solve a form of the Byzantine Generals Problem and sets the foundation for Decentralised Trust Protocols. Still in its infancy, the currency and the protocol have the potential to disrupt the international financial system and other sectors, where business is based on trusted third parties. The security of the bitcoin protocol relies on strong cryptography and one-way hashing algorithms.