What is Bitcoin (BTC)?. Bitcoin is the first decentralized cryptocurrency, launched in 2009. It uses proof‑of‑work mining and a fixed supply of 21 million to create digital scarcity and censorship‑resistant payments.
How it works
Miners compete to find a valid hash that seals a block roughly every ten minutes. The successful miner earns newly issued BTC plus fees; the network recognizes the longest valid chain as truth.
Why it matters
Bitcoin established a model for trustless value transfer and a monetary policy that no single actor can change, influencing the entire digital asset space.
Common pitfalls
- Sending BTC on a non‑Bitcoin network by mistake
- Holding large balances on exchanges without withdrawal planning
- Ignoring fee conditions and confirmation times during congestion
Quick example
A business pays a vendor using on‑chain BTC and releases goods after the transaction has enough confirmations for their risk tolerance.
See also
- Mining (Proof of Work)
- Block Explorer
- Lightning Network
TL;DR: What is Bitcoin (BTC)? defined in plain English with practical next steps.
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