Beginner's Guide to the Bitcoin Network

Learn what the Bitcoin network is, what happens on the Bitcoin network, and why it’s important.

What is a Network?

Instead of a governing body or central organization (like a bank) managing transactions, Bitcoin is run by a network made up of thousands of computers running some software that handles the sending

What is the Bitcoin Network?

The Bitcoin network is a peer-to-peer (P2P) network. From the words of the Bitcoin God himself: “A purely peer-to-peer version of electronic cash would allow online payments to be sent directly from one

What Does the Bitcoin Network Do?

As mentioned in the previous lesson, the Bitcoin network is made up of computers running the Bitcoin software. These computers or “machines” are known as Bitcoin nodes. Bitcoins nodes basically gossip. They love to talk to each other.

What is a Bitcoin Node?

The Bitcoin network is a peer-to-peer (P2P) network of “nodes”. In previous lessons, you learned what a network does and what a P2P network is. But what exactly is a Bitcoin node? What does a