Bitcoin

File Format
Name	Bitcoin
Ontology	Electronic File Formats Currency Bitcoin
Released	2009

Bitcoin is an "alternative currency" that is generated electronically with no central authority, with a loosely-connected set of network nodes engaged in "minting" coins by solving difficult mathematical computations, validating such newly-created "coins", and storing transactions involving them. This is all accomplished algorithmically.

A bitcoin, and its associated transactions, can be represented in various ways, even including actual physical metal coins if you can believe the picture in the Wikipedia article. A binary format is defined in the Bitcoin technical specs, but archived Bitcoin blocks in the "Block Explorer" site are displayed in a JSON-based format (served as text/plain).

Data format info

• Protocol specification

Other specs and definitions

• Blocks
• Address
• Transactions

Software

• Bitcoin software on Sourceforge
• Bitcoin-Qt client
• BitcoinAverage API
• BitcoinMonitor API

Sample files

• Block Explorer: a Bitcoin archive
• The "Genesis Block"; first Bitcoin block ever generated

Other links and references

• Wikipedia article
• Getting started with Bitcoin
• My adventure in donating bitcoins to the Internet Archive
• Government Ban On Bitcoin Would Fail Miserably
• Bitcoin ATM
• Bitcoin value reaches new high against US dollar
• Hackers steal over $12,000 in bitcoins
• Video explains Bitcoin
• Paper criticizing Bitcoin (and the concept of decentralized currencies)
• Paper showing that selfish mining behavior could end up dominating Bitcoin
• Open source governance in Bitcoin
• Bitcoins Seized by DEA
• Bitcoin's vast ovvervaluation seems to be caused by usually-illegal price fixing
• Person gets windfall from Bitcoins he forgot he owned; bought for $24 and sold for around $1 million