Bitcoin $BTC is the World’s first decentralized digital currency that facilitates secure, peer-to-peer transactions on a blockchain network. More
Fully Diluted Valuation | $2.31T |
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24H Trading Volume | $51.10B |
24H Low / High | $114.84K / $ 116.71K |
Circulating Supply | 19.92M |
Total Supply | 19.92M |
Max Supply | 21.00M |
Categories | Proof of Work (PoW) 6 more |
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Founder | Satoshi Nakamoto |
Website | bitcoin.org Whitepaper |
Socials | 3 more |
Explorer | Tokenview 6 more |
Name | Pair | OG Score |
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Bitcoin $BTC, conceived in 2008, was introduced by the pseudonymous creator Satoshi Nakamoto through a whitepaper titled "Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System." Its operational deployment began in January 2009 with the mining of the genesis block (Block 0), marking the start of a revolutionary digital financial ecosystem. Early milestones include the first Bitcoin $BTC transaction executed by Nakamoto and Hal Finney and the infamous “Bitcoin Pizza Day” in May 2010, where 10,000 Bitcoin $BTC were exchanged for two pizzas, a transaction synonymous with its earliest commercial adoption. Over the past decade, Bitcoin $BTC has experienced exponential growth in adoption, institutional interest, and its market capitalization as the pioneer in digital currency systems.
Bitcoin $BTC is built upon a decentralized, permissionless blockchain infrastructure powered by Proof-of-Work (PoW) consensus mechanisms. This technology ensures the integrity and security of transactions via cryptographic hashing, making it incredibly resistant to fraud or censorship. Each Bitcoin $BTC node independently validates transactions, preventing double-spending and ensuring network transparency. Its capped supply of 21 million Bitcoin $BTC is embedded into the protocol, creating scarcity and hedging against inflation.
Key technical breakthroughs include the implementation of Segregated Witness (SegWit) in 2017, reducing transaction size and increasing throughput efficiency. The Lightning Network, a second-layer protocol, enhances scalability by facilitating faster, low-cost transactions off-chain while preserving Bitcoin $BTC's layered security. Unlike many competitors, Bitcoin $BTC prioritizes decentralization and security over congestion-based throughput.
Bitcoin $BTC has grown beyond its original intent of peer-to-peer transactions to encompass a plethora of real-world applications. It serves as a store of value akin to digital gold, particularly in economies with volatile fiat currencies. Additionally, organizations such as Tesla and MicroStrategy have invested billions of dollars in Bitcoin $BTC as a treasury reserve asset.
Retail acceptance has also expanded significantly. Platforms like PayPal and Square enable Bitcoin $BTC transactions, and major payment networks such as Mastercard offer Bitcoin $BTC-related products. On a governmental level, El Salvador adopted Bitcoin $BTC as legal tender in 2021, further illustrating its transformative potential. The Bitcoin $BTC blockchain also serves as a base layer for developing decentralized applications (dApps), further broadening its utility.
The tokenomics of Bitcoin $BTC revolves around its fixed supply of 21 million coins and its issuance through block rewards. The rewards halve approximately every four years in "halving events," reducing the rate of new Bitcoin $BTC entering circulation. This predictable deflationary model underpins its value creation, controlled issuance, and scarcity.
The utility of Bitcoin $BTC extends to transaction fees, earned by miners who secure the network and validate blocks. Key demand drivers include its role as a hedge against inflation, growing institutional adoption, and increasing recognition of its utility in decentralized ecosystems. Bitcoin $BTC's seamless transferability across borders and its censorship-resistant nature further reinforce its value proposition.
The Bitcoin $BTC network thrives on its robust and decentralized community of miners, developers, and advocates. The core developer network consistently iterates on improving the protocol while preserving the ethos of decentralization. Platforms such as GitHub enable open collaboration, and organizations like the Bitcoin Foundation advocate for its adoption and education globally.
Strategic alliances bolster its integration into traditional financial systems. Fidelity, Grayscale, and BlackRock have launched or proposed Bitcoin $BTC investment products, attracting diverse investor classes. Governmental interest, particularly in central bank discussions around blockchain, has further catalyzed innovation and regulatory frameworks involving Bitcoin $BTC.
As of 2025, Bitcoin $BTC has seen advancements in the adoption of ordinals, enabling non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and other metadata on its blockchain. Institutional acceptance has reached new heights, with major banks testing Bitcoin $BTC as collateral for loans. Regulatory clarity in leading economies has also positively influenced Bitcoin $BTC’s framework for institutional participation.
Major upgrades to the Lightning Network have optimized its usability for global remittances, while leading developers focus on minimalistic enhancements to the base layer. Meanwhile, ongoing geopolitical interest in Bitcoin $BTC, particularly from emerging markets leveraging its monetary sovereignty features, has solidified its role as a global asset.
Bitcoin $BTC represents a fundamental paradigm shift in the global monetary system. Its origins as the first cryptocurrency, coupled with its innovative technical architecture and real-world applications, set it apart as both a form of digital money and a durable store of value. The growing ecosystem surrounding Bitcoin $BTC, inclusive of its developer and user communities, institutional adoption, and ever-expanding use cases, ensures its sustained relevance in the evolving financial landscape.
Bitcoin $BTC’s supply is capped at 21 million coins, creating digital scarcity that drives its value and acts as a hedge against inflation.
Proof-of-Work ensures decentralized security, validating transactions through computational work by miners while resisting fraud and censorship.
Bitcoin $BTC undergoes halving approximately every four years, reducing block rewards by 50% and decreasing the rate of supply issuance, promoting scarcity and impacting miner profitability.
The Lightning Network enables fast, low-cost, off-chain transactions, enhancing Bitcoin $BTC’s scalability and utility for micro-payments and global remittances.
Segregated Witness (SegWit) improved Bitcoin $BTC’s transaction efficiency by separating signature data, increasing its throughput and reducing transaction size.
El Salvador’s adoption of Bitcoin $BTC as legal tender marked the first instance of a nation integrating cryptocurrency into its economy, promoting global recognition.
Bitcoin $BTC’s decentralized nature, capped supply, and resistance to government intervention solidify its reputation as digital gold and a hedge against economic uncertainty.
Institutional investments by companies like Tesla and MicroStrategy validate Bitcoin $BTC’s position as a high-value reserve asset, increasing demand and mainstream credibility.
Bitcoin $BTC relies on its decentralized nodes and miner consensus to govern the network, avoiding centralized control and fostering community-driven updates.
Ordinals enable metadata storage, such as NFTs, on the Bitcoin $BTC blockchain, expanding its use cases beyond simple monetary transfers.
Bitcoin is the first cryptocurrency, characterized by its decentralized nature and operation on a peer-to-peer blockchain without the need for intermediaries, a public digital ledger available on the internet for everyone.
The founder of Bitcoin remains publicly unknown, but several individuals have been suspected of being the creator or part of the original team behind it, including Peter Todd, Adam Back, Nick Szabo, Hal Finney, Wei Dai, Len Sassaman, Craig Wright, Dorian Nakamoto, Paul Le Roux, Ted Nelson, and Tim May, with some theories even suggesting that "Satoshi Nakamoto" may have been a group rather than a single person. According to HBO's documentary "The Satoshi Mystery", the primary possible founder is Peter Todd.
According to our assessment, it is possible that Hal Finney (RIP, Legend) or more likely, Bitcoin was created by a group of people including some of the names above. This collective approach could have been deliberately chosen to maintain anonymity and cover the full scope of the project.
Bitcoin $BTC network thrives on its robust and decentralized community of miners, developers, and advocates. The core developer network consistently iterates on improving the protocol while preserving the ethos of decentralization. Platforms such as GitHub enable open collaboration, and organizations like the Bitcoin Foundation advocate for its adoption and education globally. Bitcoin’s origins are unique compared to traditional assets, as it was launched without a centralized team or venture capital. Today, the largest holders and backers of Bitcoin include its anonymous creator or founding team, known as Satoshi Nakamoto, who is believed to hold approximately 1.1 million BTC, untouched since its early mining days.
In addition to this:
🏦 Major Institutional Holders (as of August 2025)
Michael Saylor via Strategy (prev:MicroStrategy) - Holds over 628,791 BTC, making it the largest corporate holder. (and Saylor keeps adding more each week by raising funds via Strategy)
Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC) - Holds around 183,949 BTC (Grayscale holdings was over 620K BTC in Q1 2024, But has been declining since then because of Institutions preper other costody services and ETFs)
BlackRock - Holds around 720,000 BTC
Binance Exchange - Holds around 588,385 BTC on behalf of institutional and retail investors.
🏛️ Government Holdings
The U.S. Government hold over 200,000 BTC, mostly seized from darknet marketplaces and criminal proceedings (e.g. Silk Road cases).
👨💻 Developer Community & Code Contributions
Bitcoin is maintained as an open-source project primarily on GitHub via the Bitcoin Core repository.
As of 2025, over 800 developers have contributed code to Bitcoin Core.
Around 30 - 40 active contributors regularly submit code improvements, handle bug fixes, and propose protocol upgrades.
Independent developers, researchers, and foundations like Chaincode Labs, Brink, and Blockstream play key roles in maintaining Bitcoin’s development.
Bitcoin uses a Proof of Work (PoW) consensus mechanism, where miners solve complex mathematical problems to validate transactions and secure the network.
You can buy Bitcoin $BTC on Binance, Bybit, Gate.io, MEXCBitget Cryptocurrency exchanges.
🔗 Key Layer-2 Protocols Running on Bitcoin (Updated 2025)
Lightning Network
Purpose: Enables fast, low-cost BTC transactions off-chain.
Use Case: Micro and instant payments.
Status: Widely adopted by wallets, exchanges, and payment processors.
Stacks (STX)
Purpose: Smart contracts and dApps secured by Bitcoin.
Mechanism: Uses Proof-of-Transfer (PoX) consensus, anchoring data to Bitcoin blocks.
Use Case: NFTs, DeFi, DAOs, and Web3 identity (e.g., BNS).
Status: Actively maintained, with growing adoption in 2025.
Rootstock (RSK)
Purpose: EVM-compatible smart contract platform secured by Bitcoin.
Mechanism: Merge-mined with Bitcoin.
Use Case: DeFi protocols, token issuance, and oracle integrations.
Status: Actively developed.
Liquid Network (Blockstream)
Purpose: A federated sidechain for fast, confidential transactions and tokenization.
Assets: L-BTC (pegged BTC), stablecoins, securities, tokenized assets.
Use Case: Exchange settlements, issuance of digital assets.
🪙 Bitcoin Token Standards & Inscription Protocols
Ordinals
What: A protocol for inscribing arbitrary data onto individual satoshis.
Use Case: Bitcoin-native NFTs (also called "digital artifacts").
Status: Widely used; ecosystem includes marketplaces and wallets.
BRC-20
What: An experimental token standard using Ordinals to create fungible tokens.
Limitation: No smart contract support; depends on off-chain indexers.
Use Case: Meme tokens and speculative assets on Bitcoin.
Status: Still popular, though newer standards are emerging.
SRC-20
What: Stamp-based inscription standard on Bitcoin using STAMPS protocol.
Improves: Data permanence by embedding in image format and leveraging UTXOs, avoiding pruning.
Use Case: Permanent NFTs and tokens.
Status: Growing in collectors’ communities. New products emerge.
Runes Protocol (by Casey Rodarmor, creator of Ordinals)
What: A UTXO-based fungible token standard intended to replace BRC-20.
Launch: Officially activated during Bitcoin’s 2024 halving.
Advantage: More efficient, less spammy, native to Bitcoin’s architecture.
Status: Gaining momentum in 2025 with early projects launching.
Governments and major corporations have shown growing interest in Bitcoin (BTC) due to several strategic, financial, and technological factors.
1. Digital Store of Value & Hedge Against Inflation
Bitcoin is increasingly viewed as a digital equivalent to gold a hedge against inflation and fiat currency devaluation. Its fixed supply of 21 million coins and decentralized issuance mechanism offer an alternative to traditional monetary systems that are subject to political and central bank interventions. Bitcoin has operated continuously for over 16 years, maintaining its position as the most secure and decentralized ledger on the internet. Its robust proof-of-work algorithm ensures transparency, immutability, and strong resistance to censorship, making it a trusted foundation in the digital asset space.
2. Decentralization and Financial Sovereignty
Bitcoin's decentralized nature appeals to institutions and governments interested in financial systems that operate without centralized control. This offers potential improvements in financial transparency, efficiency, and resistance to censorship.
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