bitcoin.it, as data

# Main PageMost client software, derived or "from scratch", also use open source licensing.Bitcoin is the first successful implementation of a *distributed crypto-currency*, described in part in 1998 by Wei Dai on the cypherpunks mailing list. Building upon the notion that money is any object, or any sort of record, accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts in a given country or socio-economic context, Bitcoin is designed around the idea of using cryptography to control the creation and transfer of money, rather than relying on central authorities.Bitcoins have all the desirable properties of a money-like good. They are portable, durable, divisible, recognizable, fungible, scarce and difficult to counterfeit.Bitcoin is P2P electronic cash that is valuable over legacy systems because of the monetary autonomy it brings to its users. Bitcoin seeks to address the root problem with conventional currency: all the trust that's required to make it work -- Not that justified trust is a bad thing, but trust makes systems brittle, opaque, and costly to operate. Trust failures result in systemic collapses, trust curation creates inequality and monopoly lock-in, and naturally arising trust choke-points can be abused to deny access to due process. Through the use of cryptographic proof, decentralized networks and open source software Bitcoin minimizes and replaces these trust costs.* **Permissionless** and **borderless**. The software can be installed by anybody worldwide.* **Anonymous**. Bitcoin does not require any ID to use making it suitable for the unbanked, the privacy-conscious, computers or people in areas with underdeveloped financial infrastructure.* **Private**. When used with care bitcoin can support strong financial privacy.* **Censorship-resistant**. Nobody is able to block or freeze a transaction of any amount.* **Fast**. Transactions can be made almost as fast as data can travel over the Internet.