Bitcoin was created in 2009 by someone using the name Satoshi Nakamoto. Satoshi's goal was to build a decentralized digital money that didn’t rely on banks or governments. After the 2008 financial crisis, Satoshi wanted a system that people could trust—one where rules were enforced by math and code, not human institutions.
Unlike dollars, which can be printed endlessly, Bitcoin has a fixed supply of 21 million coins. Over the last 50 years, the U.S. dollar has lost more than 85% of its purchasing power due to inflation. Bitcoin is designed to be scarce and predictable. It’s not controlled by any central authority and runs on a decentralized network of computers called nodes, which enforce the rules and validate transactions.
Venmo and PayPal are companies that move dollars around on your behalf—they can freeze accounts, reverse transactions, or block payments. They also charge fees for many types of transfers. Bitcoin is open and global: it runs on a public network that anyone can use, and no one can censor, undo, or add fees to your transactions beyond what the network itself requires—which is often just pennies, especially on the Lightning Network.
Bitcoin is pseudonymous, not fully anonymous. Your name isn’t tied to your wallet, but every transaction is recorded on a public ledger. If someone links your identity to your wallet address, your activity can be traced. There are privacy tools available, but Bitcoin is not inherently private.
In most countries—including the U.S.—Bitcoin is legal to own, buy, sell, and use. Some governments have placed restrictions or bans, but in much of the world, it’s treated as property or a digital asset. However, how it’s taxed and regulated varies by country.
Yes, you can use Bitcoin for everyday purchases like coffee, food, or even paying bills—especially if the business accepts it directly or through payment processors like BTCPay Server or Strike. The number of merchants accepting Bitcoin is growing, and the Lightning Network makes small payments fast and cheap. That said, adoption varies by region, so it's not accepted everywhere yet.
You can spend Bitcoin at an increasing number of retailers, websites, and service providers. Some major brands accept it directly, while others accept it via payment apps like BitPay or Strike. You can also use Bitcoin to buy gift cards or load debit cards. Check sites like btcmap.org to find local businesses that accept Bitcoin.
Bitcoin transactions move value from one wallet address to another using digital signatures that prove ownership of the coins being spent. After a transaction is broadcast to the network, it’s verified by a decentralized group of computers called nodes, which check that the sender has the funds and hasn’t already spent them.
Once verified, the transaction is grouped with others into a block, which miners compete to add to the blockchain using a process called proof-of-work. When a block is successfully mined, all its transactions become part of Bitcoin’s permanent public record. This process typically takes around 10 minutes. Transactions made via the Lightning Network work off-chain and are nearly instant and much cheaper.
A Bitcoin invoice is a request for payment, usually in the form of a QR code or payment link. It includes the amount due, the receiving address (or Lightning invoice), and sometimes an expiration time. Invoices make it easy for the payer to send the exact amount without manually copying info.
If you send Bitcoin to the wrong address and it’s a valid one on the network, the transaction is irreversible and the coins are lost unless the recipient returns them. Always double-check addresses—there’s no “undo” button. Use QR codes and trusted apps to reduce the risk of errors.
You can buy Bitcoin through exchanges like Swan, Cash App, Strike, River, or Coinbase. These platforms let you link a bank account or debit card to buy Bitcoin. Some apps let you withdraw your Bitcoin to your own wallet right away — others may require a waiting period. Always plan to take custody of your coins after buying.
The safest way to store Bitcoin is in a self-custody wallet where you control the private keys. Hardware wallets (such as Coldcard, Trezor, or Ledger) are the most secure for long-term savings, though opinions about specific hardware wallets vary amongst Bitcoiners. Always be sure you are comfortable with security level of all devices you use to store your Bitcoin. Mobile wallets (like Phoenix or BlueWallet) are good for smaller amounts you plan to spend. Never store large amounts on exchanges or apps you don’t control.
If you lose access to your wallet but still have your backup seed phrase (usually 12 or 24 words), you can recover your Bitcoin in any compatible wallet. If you lose both the wallet and the seed phrase, your Bitcoin is lost forever — there’s no password reset or recovery service. That’s why backups are critical.
Some Bitcoiners stamp their seed phrases into metal plates and store them safely.
No — Bitcoin is divisible. You can buy as little as a few dollars’ worth. Each Bitcoin can be broken into 100 million units called satoshis (or sats). You might only ever own 100,000 sats — and that’s totally normal.
A seed phrase is a list of 12 or 24 words that acts like a master key to your Bitcoin. Anyone who has this phrase can access your funds. It’s the backup that lets you restore your wallet if your phone or hardware wallet is lost or destroyed. Store it offline, never on a computer or cloud account, and never share it with anyone.
No — exchanges are convenient, but they control your coins. If the exchange gets hacked, freezes your account, or goes bankrupt, you could lose everything. The saying goes: "Not your keys, not your coins." Once you buy Bitcoin, move it to a wallet you control.
The Lightning Network is a second-layer payment system built on top of Bitcoin. It allows for fast, cheap transactions by creating payment channels between users. Instead of recording every transaction on the main blockchain, Lightning settles most payments off-chain and only uses the blockchain when opening or closing channels. This makes it ideal for everyday spending, like buying coffee or tipping someone instantly.
Yes — when used properly, Lightning is very safe. You retain control of your funds, and transactions are cryptographically secure. However, because payments happen off-chain, there are new risks to consider like routing failures or needing to stay online to watch for bad activity in some setups. Mobile Lightning wallets make this easy by handling it for you in the background.
Lightning payments are nearly instant — usually taking less than a second. They’re much faster than regular Bitcoin transactions, which can take 10 minutes or more to confirm on-chain. This makes Lightning perfect for real-time payments like retail, tips, or splitting a bill with friends.
No — you can use Bitcoin without Lightning. The main Bitcoin blockchain still works for regular transactions, especially for savings or large payments. Lightning is optional, but it's a great tool for fast and low-fee transactions when you need them.
Many wallets support Lightning, including:
Phoenix (user-friendly and self-custodial)
Breez (good for retail use)
Wallet of Satoshi (custodial and beginner-friendly)
Zeus (connects to your own node)
Muun (on-chain with optional Lightning support)
Choose a wallet based on how much control you want and how you plan to use it.
Bitcoin matters because it gives people a way to store and transfer value without needing permission from governments, banks, or corporations. It's money that no one can inflate, freeze, or devalue at will. In a world where trust in institutions is breaking down, Bitcoin offers a rules-based system that empowers individuals everywhere.
Bitcoin lets anyone, anywhere, control their own money — no bank account required. It can’t be seized, censored, or devalued by governments. This gives people true ownership over their wealth, even in countries with broken banking systems, inflation, or authoritarian controls.
In places like Venezuela, Nigeria, or Turkey, local currencies lose value quickly and governments often restrict access to foreign money. Bitcoin gives people a lifeline — a way to save in something stronger than their local currency and to transact without government surveillance or control. It can literally be the difference between surviving or not.
Bitcoin runs on a global network of thousands of independent computers (called nodes) that all follow the same rules. No one person, company, or government controls it. Anyone can join, verify the code, and help secure the network. This decentralized structure makes it nearly impossible to shut down or manipulate.
Bitcoin is called "sound money" because it has a fixed supply of 21 million coins and can't be inflated. Like gold, it’s scarce and durable — but it’s also easy to store, divide, and send across the world. That makes it a modern upgrade to gold as a long-term store of value.
Saving in Bitcoin means holding it long-term, often to protect wealth from inflation or devaluation. Historically, this has been powerful — Bitcoin has increased in value nearly every year since it was created, often dramatically. People who saved early have seen their purchasing power grow many times over.
Using Bitcoin for payments means spending it like money. That has advantages too — especially when Bitcoin is rising in value and you’re spending coins you bought with cheaper dollars. But spending also comes with timing risk: if you spend Bitcoin and the price jumps later, you gave up more value than you realized.
Because of that, many people:
Save most of their Bitcoin, treating it like digital gold.
Spend small amounts through the Lightning Network, or only when it makes sense — like to support businesses that accept Bitcoin or avoid fees from traditional systems.
In short: saving Bitcoin helps you build wealth; spending it lets you use that wealth flexibly — both play a role depending on your goals.
No — Bitcoin is a decentralized network running on thousands of computers around the world. There's no central company, server, or person to shut down. Governments can try to restrict access or regulate usage, but they can’t turn Bitcoin off. As long as one node is still running, Bitcoin lives on.
Only if they get access to your private key or seed phrase. If you keep those safe, your Bitcoin is safe. Hackers can’t guess your key or “break into” the blockchain. Bitcoin theft happens when people do things like leave coins on exchanges or fall for scams — not because the network itself was compromised.
Self-custody means you control your Bitcoin — no third party involved. This protects you from hacks, exchange collapses, account freezes, or censorship. When you hold your own keys, no one can take your Bitcoin from you or tell you how to use it. It’s real ownership, and it’s a big part of what makes Bitcoin revolutionary.
Only use well-known wallets like Phoenix, BlueWallet, or Sparrow.
Never enter your seed phrase into a website or share it with anyone.
Avoid “too good to be true” investment schemes or giveaways.
Double-check URLs and app publishers before downloading.
When in doubt, ask trusted Bitcoiners — scammers rely on confusion.
Custodial wallets hold your Bitcoin for you (like an exchange or app). They control your private keys — not you.
Non-custodial wallets give you full control. You hold your own keys, and only you can access the funds.
If it doesn’t give you a seed phrase, it’s probably custodial.
If the global internet is disrupted and Bitcoin’s network becomes split into isolated regions, you should be very cautious about accepting payments. Each region may build its own version of the blockchain, but only one version will survive once the network reconnects.
Bitcoin only recognizes the chain with the most accumulated proof-of-work. All other versions are discarded. If you receive Bitcoin on the “losing” chain, that payment disappears — it’s like it never happened. You could lose both the coins and the goods or services you provided.
Unless you trust the sender to resend the payment on the valid chain, it’s best to pause Bitcoin transactions during major network disruptions and wait until the network is largely reconnected.
Bitcoin is a decentralized digital system where people can send money directly to each other — no bank required. It runs on a global network of computers that agree on a shared record of all transactions (called the blockchain). Every 10 minutes, new transactions are grouped into a block and added to the chain using a process called proof-of-work. This keeps the system honest and secure without needing any central authority.
Proof-of-work is a way for Bitcoin’s network to agree on the order of transactions. Miners use powerful computers to solve hard math problems. The first to solve it gets to add the next block of transactions to the blockchain — and earns new Bitcoin as a reward. This system makes it costly to cheat but easy for others to verify.
Bitcoin is designed so a new block is added about every 10 minutes. When your transaction is included in a block, that’s your first confirmation. The 10-minute target keeps the network stable and gives time for the system to agree on what’s valid. More confirmations over time make your transaction more secure.
Nodes are computers that keep a full copy of the Bitcoin blockchain. They check and share transactions, helping enforce the rules.
Miners are a special kind of node that group transactions into blocks and compete to add them to the blockchain using proof-of-work.
Together, nodes and miners keep Bitcoin running without any central control.
A block is a batch of recent Bitcoin transactions, grouped together and added to the blockchain about every 10 minutes. Each block links to the one before it, forming a chain. Once your transaction is in a block, it’s considered confirmed and part of Bitcoin’s permanent record.
Fees go up when lots of people are using Bitcoin at the same time. There’s limited space in each block, so users compete to get their transactions confirmed quickly by including higher fees. Tools like the Lightning Network help avoid high fees by settling payments off-chain.
Bitcoin Cash is a spin-off of Bitcoin that increased block size to allow for more transactions per block, aiming for faster payments. However, it has lower security and adoption compared to Bitcoin. Bitcoin prioritizes decentralization, long-term security, and sound money principles — while Bitcoin Cash focuses on fast, cheap payments.
Bitcoin is focused on being decentralized, secure, and limited in supply — a form of hard digital money. Ethereum is more like a global computer that runs programs (smart contracts) on its blockchain. It’s more flexible, but also more complex and less stable. Bitcoin aims to be the base layer for sound money; Ethereum aims to be a platform for apps and finance.
Bitcoin’s 21 million supply limit was built into its code to make it scarce — like digital gold. This cap prevents inflation and ensures that no one, not even governments or developers, can create more Bitcoin out of thin air. By fixing the supply, Bitcoin shifts focus to preserving value instead of diluting it.
Once all 21 million Bitcoin are mined (around the year 2140), no new coins will be created. Miners will still earn income from transaction fees instead of block rewards. By then, Bitcoin's fee market is expected to support the network, and most users will use second-layer tools like Lightning for everyday payments.
The halving is a scheduled event that cuts the amount of new Bitcoin miners earn in half, about every 4 years. It slows down the rate of new supply and makes Bitcoin more scarce over time. Historically, halvings have been followed by major price increases due to reduced supply hitting the market.
Bitcoin’s price is set in open markets through global exchanges, where buyers and sellers meet 24/7. Like anything else, it comes down to supply and demand — but with Bitcoin, there's an important twist: supply is fixed and known in advance.
On the supply side, new Bitcoin is introduced through mining. Miners are constantly weighing whether the price of Bitcoin justifies spending electricity to earn it — or whether they should sell their energy elsewhere. When Bitcoin’s price is high, mining becomes more competitive; when it drops, weaker miners may shut down, reducing sell pressure.
On the demand side, Bitcoin is often bought as a hedge against inflation, as a long-term savings tool, or as a way to escape broken financial systems. That demand can surge or dip based on global trust in fiat currencies, government policy, or macroeconomic conditions.
Because the production cost (energy + hardware) sets a kind of “floor” for mining incentives, and the market balances this with demand, Bitcoin’s price reflects something deeper: how much the world values open, decentralized money — and what they’re willing to pay for it.
Bitcoin is volatile because it’s real. Fiat currencies like the dollar may appear stable, but their purchasing power quietly erodes every year. Bitcoin’s price, on the other hand, shows truth in motion — it’s a live auction for what people around the world believe it’s worth in real time.
Volatility is part of price discovery in a free market. It reflects people re-evaluating Bitcoin's value as awareness, adoption, and economic pressures shift. And since there’s no central bank smoothing it out, the moves are raw and unfiltered.
Bitcoin’s volatility is also tied to the economic dance of miners: when prices rise, more miners come online and add sell pressure to pay costs. When prices fall, some miners turn off machines, reducing sell pressure and pushing difficulty down. This dynamic helps the network self-regulate, but it adds short-term turbulence.
In the long run, as adoption grows and more people use Bitcoin as a store of value or settlement layer, volatility should decline — but for now, it’s the honest price of a financial revolution.