Finder makes money from featured partners, but editorial opinions are our own. Advertiser disclosure

Bitcoin (BTC) price, chart, coin profile and news

Find the latest Bitcoin (BTC) price, coin profile, news and history to get you started with Bitcoin trading and investing.

Uphold - Digital Asset Platform

Uphold - Digital Asset Platform logo
  • Buy, sell and trade 281 cryptos.
  • Instant buy with USD & advanced trading options.
Go to site

Disclaimer: This page is not financial advice or an endorsement of digital assets, providers or services. Digital assets are volatile and risky, and past performance is no guarantee of future results. Potential regulations or policies can affect their availability and services provided. Talk with a financial professional before making a decision. Finder or the author may own cryptocurrency discussed on this page.

What is Bitcoin?

Bitcoin is the world's first cryptocurrency. It was invented on 31 October, 2008, and formally launched on 3 January, 2009 by an anonymous entity known as Satoshi Nakamoto. Since then, it has been on a trajectory of worldwide adoption.

The word Bitcoin can be used interchangeably to describe 3 things:

  • The digital currency, Bitcoin (BTC)
  • The Bitcoin blockchain
  • The Bitcoin network

Bitcoin (BTC) is Internet money that can be transferred to and from anyone with an Internet connection. Every transfer is a transaction, and each transaction is recorded in a database called the Bitcoin blockchain.

The Bitcoin blockchain contains a full record of every Bitcoin transaction that has ever taken place since 3 January 2009. The blockchain is replicated and continuously synchronized on every single computer that runs the Bitcoin network.

The Bitcoin network is made up of thousands of computers all over the world run by individuals, small businesses and large companies. Each computer that makes up the network is called a node.

Bitcoin has no CEO, headquarters, or official spokesperson. None of the computers that run the Bitcoin network are any more important than any other computer, giving Bitcoin an essential quality of robustness and egalitarianism. Since the network is run by thousands of computers globally, yet simultaneously governed by no-one, it is considered to be highly decentralized.

Bitcoin price chart:

Everything you need to know about Bitcoin

Bitcoin at a glance

Ticker symbolBTC
UseDigital Asset
Year released2009
OriginSatoshi Nakamoto
Maximum supply21,000,000
Consensus algorithmProof of Work
Notable team membersSatoshi Nakamoto
Mineable?Yes

How does Bitcoin work?

Bitcoin is made possible by the underlying technology it is built upon – the blockchain.

As the name suggests, a blockchain is a series of blocks chained together. Each new block contains the latest set of transactional data. The blockchain is stored and synchronised across thousands of participant computers worldwide, otherwise known as "nodes".

When a user transfers Bitcoin (BTC) from their address to a recipient's address, that transaction is sent to the Bitcoin network to be processed. The transactions are grouped into blocks and added to the blockchain when a block has been "mined". Once a block has been mined, it is permanently added to the blockchain. Both the block and the transactions within the block cannot be changed once the block has been added to the rest of the chain. A new block of transactions is created roughly every 10 minutes.

What are Bitcoin block rewards?

The Bitcoin network offers computers an incentive to contribute their computational power to the network. Any computer may join, but the stronger the computer, the more likely that the computer will mine a block and earn a block reward. Bitcoin block rewards are paid out in Bitcoin, and are a predetermined amount of new Bitcoin not yet released into circulation, in addition to all of the fees paid on the transactions included in the block that was just mined.

What are Bitcoin halvening events?

Halvening events are a permanent reduction in the Bitcoin block reward. These halvening events take place every 210,000 blocks, or roughly every 4 years. When a halvening takes place, the block reward is reduced by half. When the Bitcoin blockchain began in 2009, the reward was 50 Bitcoin per block. Then 210,000 blocks later in 2012, the reward was reduced to 25. In total, there have been 3 halvenings in history – the last 2 taking place in 2016 and 2020. The current reward for mining a block is 6.25 Bitcoin.

Why is there only 21 million Bitcoin?

The fact there is only 21 million Bitcoin is a side effect of this halvening cycle described above. Because a Bitcoin can be divided into 100 million pieces (called Satoshis), there will come a day wherein the block reward is smaller than the smallest unit of Bitcoin. At this point and time, there will be no more Bitcoin added to circulation, and the total circulating supply will be 21 million Bitcoin. This event will take place somewhere around the year 2140. At this point in time, the miners in the network will be earning rewards solely from transaction fees.

BTC adoption

Bitcoin (BTC) is the most popular coin with 37% of crypto owners saying they hold BTC, according to Finder's Cryptocurrency Adoption Index. Australia sits atop the table, with 60% of crypto owners holding BTC. At the other end is Mexico, where roughly 21% of crypto owners say they own Bitcoin.

While the percentage of US crypto owners who say they own BTC is slightly up in August (36%) compared to July (35%), it lags behind the global average of 37%.

History of Bitcoin

Bitcoin has been active for 15 years. During this time, many events have transpired that have led to Bitcoin becoming the largest cryptocurrency in the world. This is both in user base and market capitalization. Understanding the history of Bitcoin is a great way to understand the technology as a whole, and where it is headed in the future.

The launch of the Bitcoin whitepaper

31 October 2008: This is the day that an anonymous entity named Satoshi Nakamoto published the Bitcoin whitepaper to a mailing list consisting of mathematicians and cryptographers.

3 January 2009: Satoshi releases version 0.1 of Bitcoin and begins mining the blockchain. The initial block is inscribed with a message from a UK newspaper: "The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks." This message sits in the genesis block (block #0) of the blockchain and is permanently inscribed for all future generations to see. This gives the public a loose view into the intentions of Satoshi Nakamoto to provide a decentralized "peer-to-peer cash system" that rivals the currencies of the world.

22 May 2010: This day is known as "Bitcoin Pizza Day" and is recognised as the first day that Bitcoin gained validity as a medium of exchange – two individuals (Laszlo Hanyecz, and Jeremy Sturdivant) met on a forum to purchase 2 large Papa John's pizzas worth USD$30 for 10,000 Bitcoin. Laszlo ordered the pizzas, and Jeremy paid for them in USD. In return, Laszlo transferred Jeremy 10,000 Bitcoin, giving each Bitcoin a value of $0.003.

23 April 2011: Known in the Bitcoin community as "Satoshi Disappear Day", this is the day wherein Satoshi Nakamoto left the world stage as the lead developer behind Bitcoin. Their last message reads, "I've moved on to other things", referring to the Bitcoin project. The future of Bitcoin, he wrote, was "in good hands". Since then, Bitcoin has largely been a multinational, leaderless, open source project.

28 November 2012: The first halvening event occurs, reducing the Bitcoin block reward to 25 Bitcoin, from 50.

9 July 2016: The second halvening event occurs, reducing the Bitcoin block reward to 12.5 Bitcoin from 25.

10 May 2017: The first lightning transaction took place (albeit not on Bitcoin, but instead on Litecoin). The Lightning Network was devised in 2015 as a scaling solution for Bitcoin to be able to process hundreds of thousands, if not millions of transactions per second. After 2 years of development, the concept was tested on Litecoin proving the merits of the scaling solution.

1 August 2017: Bitcoin receives an upgrade called Segregated Witness (SegWit) that increases Bitcoin's transaction throughput. The same day, the first Bitcoin fork occurs, creating a second Bitcoin blockchain dubbed "Bitcoin Cash" (BCH). After this date, the "main" version of Bitcoin is dubbed as "Bitcoin Core" with the ticker BTC. After this fork, several more took place in the following years as more people piled into the conversation of what the "one true Bitcoin network" should look like. Some of these networks include Bitcoin Satoshi Vision (BSV), and Bitcoin Gold (BTG).

11 May 2020: The third halvening event occurs, reducing the Bitcoin block reward to 6.25 Bitcoin from 12.5.

7 September 2021: El Salvador becomes the first country in the world to make Bitcoin legal tender. President Nayib Bukele "airdrops" $30 worth of Bitcoin into the Bitcoin wallet of each citizen. The "Chivo Wallet" becomes the official, government endorsed Bitcoin wallet which uses the lightning network to make Bitcoin transactions. El Salvador begins mining Bitcoin using geothermal energy from a volcano.

13 November 2021: Bitcoin receives its first major update since the SegWit upgrade in 2017. Taproot is said to increase the privacy, scalability, and ability to host smart contract-like functionality on the Bitcoin blockchain.

Bitcoin recent developments

2 November, 2023: Bitcoin rose by 22% in October as a result of rumours that a spot Bitcoin ETF was due to be approved in the US.
3 October, 2023: The Bitcoin network is facing congestion issues due to the popularity of Ordinals, which are a way of tokenising assets on the Bitcoin network. Bitcoin reached a peak of 700,00 unconfirmed transactions on September 6, and has no dropped to 40,000 a the time of writing.
1 September, 2023: A court ruling in favor of Grayscale allows its Bitcoin Trust to convert into an ETF, creating a new opportunity for a Bitcoin spot ETF in the US.

Bitcoin FAQ

Disclaimer: Cryptocurrencies are speculative, complex and involve significant risks – they are highly volatile and sensitive to secondary activity. Performance is unpredictable and past performance is no guarantee of future performance. Consider your own circumstances, and obtain your own advice, before relying on this information. You should also verify the nature of any product or service (including its legal status and relevant regulatory requirements) and consult the relevant Regulators' websites before making any decision. Finder, or the author, may have holdings in the cryptocurrencies discussed.

Whether products shown are available to you is subject to individual provider sole approval and discretion in accordance with the eligibility criteria and T&Cs on the provider website.

Name Product Deposit methods Fiat Currencies Cryptocurrencies Offer Disclaimer Link
eToro Cryptocurrency Trading
eToro Cryptocurrency Trading
Bank transfer, Credit card, Debit card, Neteller, Skrill
EUR, GBP, NZD, USD, AUD, HKD, SGD, CHF, NOK & 5+ more

78
cryptocurrencies

Disclaimer: Cryptoasset investing is highly volatile and unregulated in the UK and some EU countries. No consumer protection. Tax on profits may apply.

Capital at risk

View details
Binance Cryptocurrency Exchange (Not available to US users)
Bank transfer, Cryptocurrency
-

369
cryptocurrencies

Capital at risk

View details
KuCoin Cryptocurrency Exchange
KuCoin Cryptocurrency Exchange
Bank transfer, Credit card, Cryptocurrency, Debit card, PayPal, P2P
USD, EUR, GBP, RUB, CNY, AUD, KRW, JPY, TRY, VND

743
cryptocurrencies

Capital at risk

View details
Bybit Cryptocurrency Exchange
Bybit Cryptocurrency Exchange
Bank transfer, Credit card, Cryptocurrency, Debit card, P2P
USD, AUD, CAD, EUR, GBP, NZD, HKD, JPY, SGD, PHP

279
cryptocurrencies

Disclaimer: Highly volatile investment product. Your capital is at risk.

Capital at risk

View details
Gate.io Cryptocurrency Exchange
Bank transfer, Credit card, Cryptocurrency, Debit card

1607
cryptocurrencies

Capital at risk

View details
Kraken Cryptocurrency Exchange
Bank transfer, Credit card, Cryptocurrency, Debit card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, SWIFT
USD, EUR, CAD, GBP, CHF, AUD

222
cryptocurrencies

Capital at risk

View details
OKX Cryptocurrency Exchange
Bank transfer, Cryptocurrency, iDEAL, PayPal, POLi, SEPA, Faster Payments (FPS)
CNY, EUR, ARS, AUD, BGN, BRL, CAD, CHF, COP

338
cryptocurrencies

Capital at risk

View details
Uphold
Uphold
Bank transfer (ACH), Credit card, Debit card, Apple Pay, Google Pay
USD, GBP, AUD, EUR, CAD, CNY, JPY, SGD, INR, NZD

237
cryptocurrencies

Capital at risk

View details
Paybis Cryptocurrency Exchange
Bank transfer, Credit card, Debit card, Neteller
EUR, GBP, USD, AUD, CAD, PHP, SGD, CHF, HKD, JPY & 30+ more

357
cryptocurrencies

US residents: Restricted in the following states - NY, CT, NM, WA, HI, AL, VT, FL, AK, NV.

Capital at risk

View details
Finder Award
Bitstamp Cryptocurrency Exchange
Bank transfer, Credit card, Cryptocurrency, Debit card, SEPA, Faster Payments (FPS)
USD, EUR, GBP

79
cryptocurrencies

Capital at risk

View details
Coinmama Cryptocurrency Marketplace
Credit card, Fedwire, SEPA, Google Pay, SWIFT, Bank card
USD, EUR, AUD, CAD, GBP, JPY

16
cryptocurrencies

Capital at risk

View details
OFFER
Gemini Cryptocurrency Exchange
Bank transfer (ACH), Cryptocurrency, Debit card, PayPal, Apple Pay, Google Pay, SWIFT
USD, AUD, CAD, EUR, GBP, SGD, HKD, COP

141
cryptocurrencies

Capital at risk

View details
Finder Award
Crypto.com App
Bank transfer, Credit card, Cryptocurrency, Debit card, PayPal, Wire transfer, Apple Pay, Google Pay, SWIFT
USD, EUR, GBP, COP, CHF, HKD, SGD, AUD, CAD, KRW, SEK, CNY, TRY, RON, JPY, NOK, MYR, BRL, DKK, ZAR, BGN, THB, INR, TWD, PHP, IDR, MOP, MDL, SAR, MXN, CLP

318
cryptocurrencies

Capital at risk

View details
loading

Are you visiting from outside the US?

Select an option to continue

Bybit Cryptocurrency Exchange

Bybit Cryptocurrency Exchange logo
  • Offers leverage and derivative trading
  • Supports EUR, GBP and CHF
  • Licensed to operate in all European countries
Go to site
Disclaimer: Highly volatile investment product. Your capital is at risk.

Kraken Cryptocurrency Exchange

Kraken Cryptocurrency Exchange logo
  • Large selection of cryptocurrencies
  • Low fees for active traders
  • Pleasant UI for new traders
Go to site

KuCoin Cryptocurrency Exchange

KuCoin Cryptocurrency Exchange logo
  • Buy, sell and trade over 700 crypto assets
  • Supports 10 Asian fiat currencies
  • Offers crypto futures trading
Go to site

Kraken Cryptocurrency Exchange

Kraken Cryptocurrency Exchange logo
  • Buy, sell and trade over 200 crypto assets
  • Licensed to operate in 17 jurisdictions in Oceania
  • Supports AUD
Go to site

Binance Cryptocurrency Exchange (Not available to US users)

Binance Cryptocurrency Exchange (Not available to US users) logo
  • Supports over 300 crypto assets
  • Binance Pay enables users spend their crypto
  • Binance P2P supports multiple African fiat currencies
Go to site

Binance Cryptocurrency Exchange (Not available to US users)

Binance Cryptocurrency Exchange (Not available to US users) logo
  • Supports over 300 crypto assets
  • Binance Pay works with Credencial Payments to support crypto payments
  • Binance P2P supports five Latin American fiat currencies
Go to site

Bybit Cryptocurrency Exchange

Bybit Cryptocurrency Exchange logo
  • Supports leverage and derivative trading
  • Supports 300 spot trading pairs
  • Low-to-non-existent trading fees
Go to site
Disclaimer: Highly volatile investment product. Your capital is at risk.

More guides on Finder

Go to site