luna-1999

Q: Bitcoin has two aspects to it that make unique - software and economics. 
Can you explain a bit about the software to us folks that can’t code?

A: Bitcoin itself can best be described as a protocol: a set of very specific rules that participants 
agree to. We are used to thinking about social protocols, for example sending a gift on a special 
occasion and then receiving a thank you card. Bitcoin’s protocol is automated with software. Each 
participant runs their software, called a node, which connects to other nodes over the Internet. 
The Bitcoin nodes verify that every transaction sending and receiving bitcoins is following the 
protocol rules, and rejecting the ones that don’t. Secure timestamps determine the order in which 
transactions are recorded, to prevent participants from spending the same bitcoins twice.