比特币是数字现金的形式之一。有别于常见的法币，比特币不受任何中央银行的控制;它所属的金融系统是由世界各地的数千台电脑运行，任何想参与其中的人只需要下载开源软件即可。
Bitcoin is one of the forms of digital cash. Unlike the usual French coins, bitcoin is not controlled by any central bank; its financial system is run by thousands of computers around the world, and anyone who wants to be involved in it simply downloads open source software.
作为首款数字货币，比特币的概念提出于2008年(2009年发行)。它赋予用户收发数字货币的能力(英文简称为“BTC”)，但比特币更瞩目的特性是：抗审查， 资金不可二次使用，交易可以随时随地进行。
As the first digital currency, the Bitcoin concept was proposed for 2008 (issued in 2009). It empowers users to receive and send digital money (the English acronym is “BTC”), but the more prominent feature of Bitcoin is that it is resistant to censorship, that funds are not used for secondary use and that transactions can take place at any time or place.
各人使用比特币的出发点都不尽相同。许多人看中其免许可的特性，即任何人只要连上网就可以收发。在使用不受限制方面，比特币有点像现金;但比特币的数字形式意味着它支持跨国转账。
The point of departure for the use of bitcoin varies from one person to another. Many see it as a non-licensed feature, i.e. that anyone can receive and send as long as they connect to the Internet. Bitcoin is somewhat like cash in terms of unrestricted use; but the number of bitcoin means that it supports cross-border transfers.
比特币具有去中心化、抗审查、安全和无国界的特性。
Bitcoin is decentralised, resistant, secure and borderless.
基于上述特性，比特币的优势用例包括国际汇款和支付，有效保障个人身份隐私(使用借记卡或信用卡容易暴露个人身份信息)。
On the basis of the above characteristics, the advantages of Bitcoin include international remittances and payments, which effectively safeguard personal identity privacy (use of debit or credit cards makes it easier to reveal personal identity information).
许多人不会花费比特币，而是选择长期持有(即 HODL)。比特币数量有限，因此“数字黄金”之称。部分投资者将比特币视为“价值储藏”，如同黄金、银等贵金属一样稀少且“开采”难度高。
Many do not spend bitcoin, but choose to hold it (i.e. HODL). Bitcoin is limited, so it is called “digital gold.” Some investors view bitcoin as a “value deposit”, as rare and difficult as precious metals such as gold and silver.
再加上比特币全球通用和高度流动，使得长期持币者相信比特币是长久储藏财富的理想媒介，会随着时间推移而增值。
Together with the global and high mobility of Bitcoin, it has led long-term currency holders to believe that bitcoin is the ideal medium for the long-term storage of wealth, adding value over time.
在比特币系统中，资金发送的方式不是大部分人想象中的现金数字化转移。如果Alice向Bob转账，过程更像是Alice在任何人可见的账本上记录她给Bob转1美元。如果Carol要向Bob收1美元，她可以从同一副账本上看到Bob确实有1美元。
In the Bitcoin system, money is not sent by a digital transfer of cash that most people imagine. If Alice transfers to Bob, it's more like Alice records her transfer of $1 to Bob on a ledger that anyone can see. If Carol wants to collect $1 from Bob, she can see on the same subbook that Bob does have $1.
这里的账本就是所谓的“区块链”数据库。所有参与者共享同一份数据副本;该副本储存于参与者的设备中，数据更新在所有相连设备中同步进行。
The account book here is the so-called block chain database. All participants share a copy of the same data; the copy is stored in the participant's device and data updates are synchronized with all connected devices.
当支付发生时，相关信息会直接广播到点对点网络;支付过程没有中央银行或机构参与。比特币区块链采用独特的“挖矿”机制来添加新信息，如是将带有交易信息的新区块串联在链上。
When payments occur, the relevant information is broadcast directly to the point-to-point network; the payment process is not involving the central bank or agency.
区块链属于仅追加分类账，即只接受数据添加。信息一旦添加到区块链，就难以修改或删除。为了保证这一点，区块链会在每个区块中强加一个指针，指向相连的下一个区块。
Block chains are only supplementary ledgers, i.e. only data additions are accepted. Once the information is added to the block chain, it is difficult to modify or delete. To ensure this, the block chain imposes a pointer in each block, pointing to the next linked block.
指针实际上是前一个区块的散列值。散列(又称为“哈希”)是将数据输入到一组单向函数，得到相应的特殊“指纹”。输入值的改动哪怕只是一丁点，都会得出截然不同的指纹。由于区块像链条一样相连，任何区块的改动必定使其后的所有区块失效。这样的架构是区块链的安全保障之一。
The pointer is actually the hash value of the first block. The hash (also referred to as “Hashi”) is to enter the data into a set of one-way functions and get the corresponding special fingerprints. The change in the input value will produce a very different fingerprint, even if it is only a little bit. As the blocks are connected as a chain, any change in the block is bound to render all subsequent blocks ineffective. Such a structure is one of the safety and security of the chain of blocks.
比特币在大多数国家都是完全合法的，只有少数例外。尽管如此，投资前务必先了解自己所在管辖区的相关法律。
Bitcoins are perfectly legal in most countries, with few exceptions. Nevertheless, it is important to know the relevant laws of their jurisdictions before investing.
在比特币的合法地区，政府机构采取各异的相关税收和规章。整体而言，这方面的管制尚未开发完善，将来很可能出现重大变数。
In the legal region of Bitcoin, government agencies adopt a variety of relevant taxes and regulations.
没人知道!比特币发明者“中本聪“其实是个假名，真实身份仍是秘密。中本聪可能是一个人或者是一群开发员，可能来自世界上任何地方。虽然”中本聪“是个日本名，但英语能力很强，让很多人断定她/他/他们来自英语国家。
No one knows! The inventor of Bitcoin is a fake name, and the true identity remains secret. He may be a person or a group of developers from anywhere in the world. Although he is a Japanese name, he/she has a strong English language, which leads many to conclude that she/he/they are from an English-speaking country.
中本聪发表了比特币白皮书和软件，却在2010年神秘消失。
The White Paper and software of Bitcoin were published by China’s Central Council, but disappeared mysteriously in 2010.
实际上，比特币涉及到的多项技术已经存在了一段时间。区块链的概念并非因比特币而生，不可变更的数据架构可追溯至1990年代早期。当时Stuart Haber和W. Scott Stornetta构想出一种为文件添加时间戳的系统。它依靠加密技术来保障数据安全、避免篡改，跟今天的区块链很相似。
In fact, several of the technologies involved in Bitcoin have been in place for some time. The concept of block chains was not born of bitcoin, and the unchangeable data structure dates back to the early 1990s. Stuart Haber and W. Scott Stornetta conceived a system to add timetamps to documents.
有趣的是，中本聪的白皮书并没有提到“区块链”一词。
Interestingly, the Chinese white paper does not refer to the term “block chain”.
比特币不是数字货币的首例，但绝对是最成功的。过去的尝试为中本聪的发明打下基础。
Bitcoin is not the first, but certainly the most successful, digital currency. Past attempts lay the foundation for medium-breathing inventions.
DigiCash
1980年代末，DigiCash公司由密码学家兼计算机科学家David Chaum创立，推出以隐私为中心的在线交易方案。该方案基于David Chaum撰写的论文(详情参见此处)。
In the late 1980s, DigiCash was founded by a cryptographer and computer scientist, David Chaum, to launch a privacy-centred online trading programme based on a paper written by David Chaum (see here for more details).
DigiCash的模式属于中心化系统，但不是为一次有趣的实验。公司后来破产，David Chaum将原因归咎为电子商务在当时尚未发展起来。
The DigiCash model was a centralised system, but not an interesting experiment. David Chaum attributed the cause of the company’s subsequent bankruptcy to the fact that electronic commerce had not developed at that time.
B-money
1990年代，B-money的概念首次出现在计算机工程师戴伟的提案。该提案随后得到了比特币白皮书的引用，原因显而易见。
In the 1990s, the concept of B-Money appeared for the first time in the proposal of the computer engineer David, which was subsequently quoted in the White Paper of Bitcoin for obvious reasons.
B-money提案涉及到“工作证明”系统(应用在比特币挖矿)和用于交易签署的分布式数据库 。第二个版本的B-money还描述了一种理念，类似于其他数字货币所用的抵押机制。
The B-Money proposal relates to the “certificate of work” system (applying in bitcoin mining) and distributed databases for trade signing. The second version of B-Money also describes a concept similar to that used for collateral in other digital currencies.
虽然B-money最终止步在起草阶段，不难看出它对比特币的影响。
Although B-Money was the last step at the drafting stage, its impact on Bitcoin was not difficult to see.
Bit Gold
Bit Gold与比特币的相似度之高，让部分人认为前者的创始人兼计算机科学家Nick Szabo就是中本聪。Bit Gold的核心是一个分类账，记录工作证明计算出的数据串。
Bit Gold is so similar to Bitcoin that some people think that Nick Szabo, the founder and computer scientist of the former, is a medium-breath. Bit Gold’s core is a ledger that records the calculated data string.
和B-money一样，Bit Gold没有得到开发。然而，Bit Gold与比特币的诸多共性巩固了前者的先驱地位。
Like B-Money, Bit Gold has not been developed. However, Bit Gold and Bitcoin's many commonalities have consolidated the vanguard status of the former.
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