Bitcoins are created as a reward for payment processing work in which users offer their computing power to verify and record payments into a public ledger. This activity is referred to as mining and miners are rewarded with transaction fees and newly created bitcoins.[14] Besides being obtained by mining, bitcoins can be exchanged for other currencies,[28] products, and services.[29] When sending bitcoins, users can pay an optional transaction fee to the miners.[30]
In February 2015, the number of merchants accepting bitcoin for products and services passed 100,000.[31] Instead of 2–3% typically imposed by credit card processors, merchants accepting bitcoins often pay fees in the range from 0% to less than 2%.[32] Despite the fourfold increase in the number of merchants accepting bitcoin in 2014, the cryptocurrency did not have much momentum in retail transactions.[33] The European Banking Authority[34] and other sources[14]:11 have warned that bitcoin users are not protected by refund rights or chargebacks. The use of bitcoin by criminals has attracted the attention of financial regulators,[35] legislative bodies,[36] law enforcement,[37] and media.[38] Criminal activities are primarily focused on darknet markets and theft, though officials in countries such as the United States also recognize that bitcoin can provide legitimate financial services.[36]
Bitcoin has been compared to a form of digital money that uses various processes securing transactions "between untrusted third parties, without the need for a central authority or bank."Bitcoin is both anonymous, and completely transparent.
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