What Is Bitcoin?
The first and largest cryptocurrency, and what makes it distinctive.
What you’ll learn
- •Bitcoin (BTC) launched in January 2009 as the first, founding cryptocurrency.
- •Its supply is hard-capped at 21 million coins, encoded directly into the software and enforced by network-wide consensus.
- •New bitcoins are released gradually through mining, with the block reward halving roughly every four years.
- •Bitcoin's fixed, provable scarcity is why it's nicknamed 'digital gold' and widely held as a store of value.
- •No company or individual owns or controls Bitcoin — it's maintained by a global, open-source community.
- •Bitcoin remains fully usable as a medium of exchange, even though many holders treat it primarily as an investment.
Full lesson and quiz for subscribers.
£5/month or a one-off £50 unlocks all 60 days.