There's Litecoin.

萊特幣、

There's Ethereum.

以太幣

So just what is cryptocurrency, and how does it work?

虛擬貨幣究竟是什麼？它們如何運作？

Essentially, it's digital money that's bought and sold online.

基本上，虛擬貨幣是透過網路交易的數位貨幣

There's no bills or coins.

該貨幣沒有實體的紙鈔或硬幣

It's not based on another asset like gold.

它也不以另一項資產掛勾，例如黃金

And it doesn't go through traditional

它的流動也不透過傳統的

financial institutions like banks.

金融機構，例如銀行

Instead, these currencies operate

這些貨幣的運作則是透過

in a completely decentralized system

一個完全去中心化的系統

that uses so-called blockchain technology

該系統運用所謂區塊鏈的技術

to track transactions.

來追蹤交易

To see how this works, let's look at how

要了解這如何運作，我們來看看

you'd buy something with cryptocurrency.

如何透過虛擬貨幣進行買賣

Say that Alice wants to buy a bike from Dan

假設 Alice 想跟 Dan 用他偏好的虛擬貨幣——比特幣，

using Bitcoin, her cryptocurrency of choice.

買一輛腳踏車

Alice begins by logging into her Bitcoin wallet

Alice 首先用一個私有金鑰

with a private key, a unique combination

——也就一組字母和數字的序列——

of letters and numbers.

登入她的比特幣錢包

With a traditional financial transaction,

在一筆傳統的金融交易當中

the exchange gets sent to banks on each side

會透過雙方的銀行

who record the money being subtracted from one account

紀錄金錢的動向，由一方減少

and added to another.

使另一方增加

But remember, in this scenario,

但是，要記得的是

there are no banks or middlemen.

這情境下沒有銀行或中間人

Instead, Alice's transaction

Alice 的這筆交易

is shared with everyone in the Bitcoin network.

則是和比特幣網絡的所有人共享

These networked computers add Alice's transaction

這寫網絡化的電腦裝置把 Alice 的這筆交易

to a shared list of recent transactions, known as a block.

加到一個共享的近期交易清單，也就是「區塊」

Every 10 minutes,

每十分鐘

the newest block of transactions is

最新的一塊交易

added on, or chained, to all the previous blocks.

會被交到先前的所有區塊上，

That's how you get a blockchain.

形成一個區塊鏈

To ensure that each block of transactions

為了確保每一塊在區塊鏈上的交易

on the chain is verified,

都有經過驗證

a subset of Bitcoin's network joins a race

比特幣下的網路就會開始進行一項

to solve a very difficult math puzzle.

解開一個非常困難的數學題的競賽

And if they solve it first, their record

如果他們第一個解開問題，他們解開的交易紀錄

of the block of transactions becomes the official record.

就會成為正式的交易紀錄

They're rewarded with Bitcoins of their own,

他們會得到比特幣獎勵

and the network gets a new block on the chain.

解題的網絡也會構成區塊鏈上新的一個區塊

This entire process is known as mining.

這整個過程成為「挖礦」

But instead of chipping away at rock,

但不是鑿石

you're solving complex puzzles.

而是解開複雜的問題

The fact that many computers are competing

而許多電腦競相解開一個區塊的事實

to verify a block ensures that no single computer

也確保沒有一台電腦

can monopolize the Bitcoin market.

能夠獨佔比特幣市場

To ensure the competition stays fair and evenly timed,

為了確保競爭是公平的，而且時間限制一樣

the puzzle becomes harder when more computers join in.

當更多電腦加入解題時，問題就會變得更加困難

The Bitcoin protocol says mining will continue

比特幣協定宣稱，挖礦會持續到

until there are 21 million Bitcoins in existence.

有 2100 萬個比特幣為止

That's set to happen around 2140 —

這估計會在 2140 年完成

if Bitcoin lasts that long.

如果那時比特幣還在的話