Bitcoin is one of the "youngest" e-currencies, but at the same time it is the most popular and certainly the most promising. Although the system was developed in 2009 by several enthusiastic programmers (experts in cryptography and distributed computing systems such as Satoshi Nakamoto, Gavin Andresen and others), it was not taken seriously until 2011, when its rate increased significantly. This was due to the noticeable growth in the number of users. Since then the system has been rapidly gaining popularity, and according to some predictions it could become the “money of the future,” or a global