The primary, foundational purpose of Bitcoin—as outlined in the original whitepaper published by the pseudonymous creator Satoshi Nakamoto—was to establish a decentralized, peer-to-peer electronic cash system that allows online payments to be sent directly from one party to another without requiring authorization, mediation, or trust from a traditional financial institution or centralized banking intermediary. By leveraging a public blockchain ledger and cryptographic proof-of-work consensus, Bitcoin aims to provide a censorship-resistant, borderless store of value with a strictly capped lifetime supply of 21 million coins, thereby protecting holders against inflationary monetary policies, systemic counterparty risks, and government currency devaluation.