In September 2012, the Bitcoin Foundation was launched, with the following mission statement:

“The Bitcoin Foundation coordinates the efforts of the members of the Bitcoin community, helping to create awareness of the benefits of Bitcoin, how to use it and its related technology requirements, for technologists, regulators, the media and everyone else globally.”

The creation of this non-profit foundation is an important milestone, as it provides Bitcoin the closest thing to an official public face, with the hope that it will drive additional standardization, protection and education.

I had previously written the article “Cryptocurrency”, which aimed to provide a high-level overview of Bitcoin, however the concept of cryptocurrency and the underlying technologies (e.g. Blockchain) can be complex. As a result, I am always looking for new materials to reference.

Yesterday, CuriousInventor posted an explainer video covering Bitcoin, which I believe is the best end-to-end description to date. The video is 22mins in length, but well worth the time, as it covers everything from transactions to security.

Although I would certainly recommend watching the entire video, the explanation of the Bitcoin consensus algorithm (Proof of Work) at the 09:43 mark does a great job of simplifying one of the most confusing parts of Bitcoin.

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