比特幣到底是什麼

What is bitcoin?

比特幣是什麼？

Bitcoin is a kind of digital currency.

比特幣是一種數字貨幣。

You can buy it with dollars or euros, just like you can trade any other currency.

你可以像兌換其他貨幣一樣，用美元、歐元購買比特幣。

You store it in an online “wallet.” And with that wallet, you can spend bitcoin online and in the physical world for goods and services.

存入網上“錢包”，然後可以通過這個“錢包”用比特幣在網上或現實世界購買物品或服務。

And, of course, bitcoin has a valuation, which you may have heard about because bitcoin's price has fluctuated up and down.

當然，你可能有所耳聞，比特幣也有估值，因爲比特幣的價格會上下波動。

What's different about bitcoin?

比特幣有何不同？

Usually, if you pay for something on the Internet, you use a credit or debit card.

如果你在網上買東西，通常你需要信用卡或借記卡。

That card is connected to information about you, such as your name and billing address.

這些卡會綁定你的個人信息，比如你的名字和賬單郵寄地址。

You can use bitcoin the same way, but unlike with a credit card, the transactions you make with the currency are completely anonymous.

同樣，你可以用比特幣在網上消費，但是不同於使用信用卡，使用比特幣的交易是完全匿名的交易。

They can't be used to identify you personally.

所以這些交易無法用來識別你的個人身份。

So you can use bitcoin to protect your privacy. Is that why the WannaCry attackers picked it as a form of payment?

你可以用比特幣保護自己的個人信息。那麼，這是比特幣勒索病毒散佈者選擇用比特幣作爲支付方式的原因嗎？

Possibly. Bitcoin has certainly gained prominence in the news media as a technology that can facilitate crime.

有可能。比特幣成爲助長犯罪的手段，無疑受到衆多新聞媒體的關注。

But even though the identities of people in a bitcoin transaction may be hidden, the public ledger has increasingly helped law enforcement trace the movement of bitcoins from place to place.

但是即使在使用比特幣的交易中交易者的身份隱匿，公開的賬簿依然能幫助執法人員追蹤比特幣的去向。