Bitcoin is a decentralized digital currency that you can buy, sell and exchange directly, without an intermediary like a bank. Bitcoinβs creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, originally described the need for βan electronic payment system based on cryptographic proof instead of trust.β Each and every Bitcoin transaction thatβs ever been made exists on a public ledger accessible to everyone, making transactions hard to reverse and difficult to fake. Thatβs by design: Core to their decentralized nature, Bitcoins arenβt backed by the government or any issuing institution, and thereβs nothing to guarantee their value besides the proof baked in the heart of the system. βThe reason why itβs worth money is simply because we, as people, decided it has valueβsame as gold,β says Anton Mozgovoy, co-founder & CEO of digital financial service company Holyheld.
Mr. Durov launched Telegram in late 2013 with his brother, Nikolai, just months before he was pushed out of VK, the Russian social-media platform he founded. Mr. Durov pitched his new appβfunded with the proceeds from the VK saleβless as a business than as a way for people to send messages while avoiding government surveillance and censorship.
