OT.....how did the first bitcoin get started?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitcoin
“Bitcoin (₿) is a cryptocurrency invented in 2008 by an unknown person or group of people using the name Satoshi Nakamoto. The currency began use in 2009 when its implementation was released as open-source software. Bitcoin is a decentralized digital currency, without a central bank or single administrator, that can be sent from user to user on the peer-to-peer bitcoin network without the need for intermediaries. Transactions are verified by network nodes through cryptography and recorded in a public distributed ledger called a blockchain.”
When I talked about “Bitcoin Central” in an earlier message, I was simplifying. There is no single locus for Bitcoin. Bitcoin’s software and data are copied all over the place. Each time a Bitcoin transaction takes place, the data is copied worldwide so that the network knows who owns the transferred (fractional) Bitcoin. Your Bitcoins are virtually accessible by a long password that only you know. If you lose your password (as some have), you lose your Bitcoins.