Cryptography for Digital Currency

Digital currency provides one of the most surprising and innovative applications of cryptography that has been seen in recent times. The hunt for a digital equivalent to cash is an old problem, but Bitcoin represents a genuinely new approach. The cryptography deployed in Bitcoin is straightforward, but the way this cryptography is used is remarkable.

Bitcoin has grasped the public imagination sufficiently enough to become a relatively well-established currency. This application also provides a compelling illustration of the importance of key management since Bitcoin money (which we will refer to as bitcoin with a ‘small b’) is, essentially, a cryptographic key.