Bitcoin-Central has won the right to operate as a bank. The change in status makes it easier to use bitcoins and bestows national protections on balances held at the exchange. : technology

Bitcoin-Central has won the right to operate as a bank. The change in status makes it easier…

I will try. I'm running mining software right now, in fact. Every bitcoin transaction ever made is recorded in a tamper-resistant account book called the "Block chain". A block is just a set of transactions, whose contents are verified by a cryptographic hash that is hard to find. Since it is hard to find, it is hard to fake. Since the hash from the previous block is included as part of the next block, they form a chain, so you can't go back and change a past transaction without changing every single one that comes later. There are many many copies of the account book in circulation (every copy of the official Bitcoin client software that users download gets a copy). So attempted fake transactions have to cross that hurdle also. It takes work to create new blocks and verify transactions. The people who do this (miners) are rewarded with fresh bitcoins (25 at the moment, wo...

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