Should I Buy Bitcoin?

We quiz Henry M. Kim, business prof

- Courtney Shea

First things first: what is Bitcoin and why do I keep hearing about it?

Bitcoin is a type of cryptocurrency, which is digital money that operates outside of financial and banking systems. With traditional money, those intermediaries verify transactions. (If you buy something on your credit card, a bank will confirm that you have the funds, for instance.) With cryptocurrency that function is performed via an encrypted digital ledger that is enabled by database technology called blockchain. Like other commodities, a cryptocurrency gains value as more people transact with it and believe that others will transact with it in the future, and buy it on that basis. Bitcoin gets so much attention because it was the first cryptocurrency, and it remains the most widely adopted and most valuable.

Who invented Bitcoin and why?