Concept
What role does the Internet play in decentralized money?
chapter 5 / Building the Blockchain
"A decentralized ledger requires a way for many participants to communicate quickly and maintain a common record. The Internet supplies the network for near-instant, universal communication, while bitcoin adds mechanisms for displaying records, preserving the integrity of the shared ledger, and rewarding people who dedicate computing resources to its maintenance. Bitcoin’s software issues new bitcoins as rewards to miners who confirm transactions, with transaction fees expected to become more important as issuance declines."
Related Ideas
- How does the blockchain prevent double-spending?chapter 5 · Building the Blockchain
- Trusted institutions verify transactions and maintain financial records.digital money · introduction
- Banks became intermediaries by recording balances, transferring money, and connecting savers with borrowers.digital money · introduction
- Money depends on confidence that value can be received, stored, and exchanged.digital money · introduction
- Modern finance relies on many intermediaries, which can introduce fees, delays, and dependency.digital money · introduction