The world’s first cryptocurrency, Bitcoin (BTC) was created in 2008 by its anonymous founder, Satoshi Nakamoto. Since its inception, Bitcoin has remained the leading cryptocurrency in market capitalization and reputation thanks to its pioneering use of peer-to-peer technologies and its decentralised nature.

Bitcoin uses a unique digital ledger known as a blockchain to log and track every transaction made using the asset. The use of blockchains – which act as an immutable, unalterable ledger of transactions – means that Bitcoin can operate with no central authority or banks in charge whilst remaining open-source and publicly available.

Bitcoin uses encryption in the form of cryptography to secure user accounts via private ‘keys’, which are extremely long-generated passwords that grant access to assets inside a wallet.

Using a private key, global users can receive, send, and hold Bitcoin within their wallet via the ‘public’ version of their key – a safe and secure key that can be sent to other users to receive funds.

Bitcoin has a fixed supply of 21 million Bitcoin, meaning no more than the fixed supply can ever be created, inflated or changed by any third party. This makes the asset uncensorable and more transparent than assets like cash, whilst also enabling more financial freedom and control over your assets.

Bitcoin is highly divisible and can be bought in any amount. Investors can hold, send, or receive fractions of a Bitcoin, with the smallest unit – a ‘satoshi’ or ‘sat’ – holding the value of 0.000 000 01 BTC.

Often referred to as ‘digital money’ due to its non-tangible nature (Bitcoin only exists on the blockchain), Bitcoin has two major use cases.

First is its use as digital money. Bitcoin transactions are fully transparent and can’t be censored, which means users can send money to anyone in the world with ease

The Bitcoin blockchain is backed by thousands of computers globally, dubbed ‘nodes’, which help ensure that the peer-to-peer design of Bitcoin remains fully decentralised. This makes bitcoin a viable form of payment for merchants willing to accept cryptocurrencies, alongside making it an alternative ‘legal tender’ asset in some countries around the world.

Second is its use as a store of value. Often used as a ‘hedge’ against assets like FIAT, cash and physical assets, Bitcoin can ‘hold’ value to tackle rising inflation and the devaluation of modern currencies.