. "The bitcoin network is a peer-to-peer payment network that operates on a cryptographic protocol. Users send bitcoins, the units of currency, by broadcasting digitally signed messages to the network using bitcoin wallet software. Transactions are recorded into a distributed public database known as the block chain, with consensus achieved by a proof-of-work system called \"mining\". The block chain is distributed internationally using peer-to-peer filesharing technology similar to BitTorrent."@en . .