Lesson 1
What is Bitcoin?
The first cryptocurrency – explained simply
Bitcoin is the first and most famous cryptocurrency in the world. It was launched in 2009 by an unknown person or group under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto – without banks, without central government, without middlemen.
What makes Bitcoin special: there will only ever be 21 million Bitcoins. This hard cap is written into the code, making Bitcoin a scarce asset – often called "digital gold".
Bitcoin runs on a blockchain: a public, decentralized ledger where every transaction is permanently recorded. It cannot be forged or altered.
Today Bitcoin is used worldwide as a payment method, investment and inflation hedge. Institutions and even countries have started integrating Bitcoin.