Bitcoin is a decentralized cryptocurrency originally described in a 2008 whitepaper by a person, or group of people, using the alias Satoshi Nakamoto. It was launched soon after, in January 2009.
Bitcoin is a peer-to-peer online currency, meaning that all transactions happen directly between equal, independent network participants, without the need for any intermediary to permit or facilitate them. Bitcoin was created,according to Nakamoto's own words, to allow "online payments to be sent directly from one party to another without going through a financial institution.
Some concepts for a similar type of a decentralized electronic currency precede BTC, but Bitcoin holds the distinction of being the first-ever cryptocurrency to come into actual use.
Bitcoin is the world's first decentralized cryptocurrency that enables peer-to-peer electronic cash transactions without intermediaries like banks or governments.
• Bitcoin operates on a blockchain secured by proof-of-work mining and the SHA-256 cryptographic algorithm, making it virtually impossible to counterfeit or double-spend.
• With a fixed supply cap of 21 million coins and programmatic halvings every four years, Bitcoin is designed as a deflationary digital asset often called "digital gold."
• Bitcoin has achieved mainstream adoption through spot ETF approvals, corporate treasury holdings, and acceptance by governments and institutions worldwide.
Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency currently trading at $77,131.66 with a market capitalization of $1.55T as of May 21, 2026. You can manage Bitcoin directly in Trust Wallet.
BTC
