![]() Official logo from bitcoin.org | |
Denominations | |
---|---|
Plural | Bitcoins |
Symbol | ₿ (Unicode: U+20BF ₿ BITCOIN SIGN)[1] |
Code | BTC |
Precision | 10−8 |
Subunits | |
1⁄1000 | Millibitcoin |
1⁄1000000 | Microbitcoin |
1⁄100000000 | Satoshi[a][2] |
Development | |
Original author(s) | Satoshi Nakamoto |
White paper | "Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System" |
Implementation(s) | Bitcoin Core |
Initial release | 0.1.0 / 9 January 2009 |
Latest release | 27.1 / 17 June 2024[3] |
Code repository | github |
Development status | Active |
Written in | C++ |
Source model | Free and open-source software |
License | MIT License |
Ledger | |
Ledger start | 3 January 2009 |
Timestamping scheme | Proof of work (partial hash inversion) |
Hash function | SHA-256 (two rounds) |
Issuance schedule | Decentralized (block reward) Initially ₿50 per block, halved every 210,000 blocks |
Block reward | ₿3.125 (as of 2024[update]) |
Block time | 10 minutes |
Circulating supply | ₿19,591,231 (as of 6 January 2024[update]) |
Supply limit | ₿21,000,000[b] |
Valuation | |
Exchange rate | Floating |
Demographics | |
Official user(s) | El Salvador[4] |
Website | |
Website | bitcoin |
Bitcoin (abbreviation: BTC; sign: ₿) is the first decentralized cryptocurrency. Nodes in the peer-to-peer bitcoin network verify transactions through cryptography and record them in a public distributed ledger, called a blockchain, without central oversight. Consensus between nodes is achieved using a computationally intensive process based on proof of work, called mining, that guarantees the security of the bitcoin blockchain. Mining consumes large quantities of electricity and has been criticized for its environmental impact.[5]
Based on a free market ideology, bitcoin was invented in 2008 by Satoshi Nakamoto, an unknown person.[6] Use of bitcoin as a currency began in 2009,[7] with the release of its open-source implementation.[8]: ch. 1 In 2021, El Salvador adopted it as legal tender.[4] Bitcoin is currently used more as a store of value and less as a medium of exchange or unit of account. It is mostly seen as an investment and has been described by many scholars as an economic bubble.[9] As bitcoin is pseudonymous, its use by criminals has attracted the attention of regulators, leading to its ban by several countries as of 2021[update].[10]
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