Bitcoin

Bitcoin is the first decentralized cryptocurrency, launched on 3 January 2009 by the pseudonymous developer Satoshi Nakamoto. It was designed as peer-to-peer electronic cash: a way to send value directly between two parties without relying on a bank or payment processor. Over time it has also come to be treated as a scarce digital store of value, often described as "digital gold".

How Bitcoin works

The network is a public ledger called a blockchain, replicated across thousands of independent computers worldwide. Transactions are grouped into blocks that are added roughly every 10 minutes through Proof of Work mining: specialized machines compete to solve a computation based on the SHA-256 hash algorithm, and the winner earns newly issued bitcoin plus transaction fees. This process makes rewriting past transactions economically impractical and lets the network operate without any central authority.

Bitcoin's supply is hard-capped at 21 million coins, of which more than 20 million are already in circulation. New issuance is cut in half at programmed "halving" events roughly every four years, so the remaining supply will be released slowly over the coming decades. This predictable, fixed schedule is central to Bitcoin's appeal as a scarce asset.

Role in the ecosystem

Bitcoin remains the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization and the reference point against which the rest of the market is measured. Its adoption has broadened well beyond early enthusiasts: the U.S. SEC approved spot Bitcoin ETFs in January 2024, opening access to traditional investment accounts, and some public companies hold bitcoin as a treasury reserve asset. While its base layer prioritizes security and decentralization over raw speed, it anchors a wider ecosystem of wallets, exchanges, and layered payment networks built on top of it.