As a currency it’s simply a new medium through which to trade, operating under parameters such as the total number in circulation, the method by which new units are allocated and free-market pricing.
Bitcoin payment systems use a decentralised ledger, which operates through a peer-to-peer network, to cut out the middleman role usually performed by a bank.
This means the record of all transactions is not held centrally, but in a network of computers, which confirm the validity of new transactions using special encoding technology.
Table 1: Community currency denomination and transaction media Currency unit of account Denomination medium Brixton Pound £ sterling Brixton £ paper, website, app, SMS Bitcoin Bitcoin bitcoin, satoshies electronic e-Portemonnee managed at par with 0.01 € points electronic, national ID as show card Krugerrand ounces of gold Krugerrand coin Loyalty card points miles, points etc. swipe card, websites, stamp cards Makkie time hour, half hour paper, website SoNantes euro SoNantes app, SMS, website, smart card Spice Time Credits time time-credit paper and online registry Terra managed price of commodities basket Terra electronic TradeQoin euro TradeQoin website, app Ven floating price of currency and commodities basket Ven website, app