Bitcoin was created by Satoshi Nakamoto, a pseudonymous person or team who outlined the technology in a 2008 white paper. It’s an appealingly simple concept: bitcoin is digital money that allows for secure peer-to-peer transactions on the internet.
Unlike services like Venmo and PayPal, which rely on the traditional financial system for permission to transfer money and on existing debit/credit accounts, bitcoin is decentralized: any two people, anywhere in the world, can send bitcoin to each other without the involvement of a bank, government, or other institution.
Every transaction involving Bitcoin is tracked on the blockchain, which is similar to a bank’s ledger, or log of customers’ funds going in and out of the bank. In simple terms, it’s a record of every transaction ever made using bitcoin.
Unlike a bank’s ledger, the Bitcoin blockchain is distributed across the entire network. No company, country, or third party is in control of it; and anyone can become part of that network.
There will only ever be 21 million bitcoin. This is digital money that cannot be inflated or manipulated in any way.
It isn’t necessary to buy an entire bitcoin: you can buy just a fraction of one if that’s all you want or need.
Key Questions
What is BTC?
BTC is the abbreviation for bitcoin.
Is Bitcoin cryptocurrency?
Yes, bitcoin is the first widely adopted cryptocurrency, which is just another way of saying digital money.
Is there a simple bitcoin definition?
Bitcoin is a decentralized digital currency used for encrypted, peer-to-peer transactions without needing a central bank
What's the price of bitcoin?
The current price of Bitcoin can be found on Coinbase's website.
Is Bitcoin an investment opportunity?
Like any other asset, you can make money by buying BTC low and selling high, or lose money in the inverse scenario.
At what price did Bitcoin start?
One BTC was valued at a fraction of a U.S. penny in early 2010. During the first quarter of 2011, it exceeded a dollar. In late 2017, its value skyrocketed, topping out at close to $20,000, and Bitcoin ended up topping $64,899 in November 2021. You can track the price of bitcoin here.