Bitcoin is an open source initiative, with no formal institution in charge of the Bitcoin network. Anyone can examine Bitcoin's code and offer fixes. There are several compatible versions of Bitcoin network software, but the "Bitcoin Core" distribution is now the most widely used and serves as the de facto standard for the Bitcoin protocol.

Bitcoin operates on a foundational principle of decentralised control. No single entity be it a government, corporation, or individual holds ultimate authority over its core software.

The Bitcoin protocol's rules are maintained by a global, open-source community of developers. Anyone can propose improvements, but changes require an overwhelming consensus from this diverse group. Crucially, these software updates must then be voluntarily adopted by the network's users (nodes) and miners. If a change is controversial, the network can reject it, preserving the original rules.

Therefore, control is distributed. Developers propose, miners process transactions, nodes validate and enforce rules, and users choose which software to run. This collaborative and adversarial system ensures no central point of failure, keeping Bitcoin resilient and aligned with the collective will of its participants.