$BTC At its heart, Bitcoin is a digital asset that lives on a decentralized network called the blockchain. Think of the blockchain as a global ledger—secure, transparent, and tamper-proof—where every Bitcoin transaction is recorded. Unlike dollars or euros, BTC isn’t printed or controlled by a central authority. Instead, it’s “mined” by powerful computers solving complex math problems, with a hard cap of 21 million coins ever to exist. As of now, over 19 million are already in circulation.

Each Bitcoin can be divided into 100 million smaller units called satoshis (like cents to a dollar), making it usable for both big investments and tiny transactions. You store it in a digital wallet, send it peer-to-peer, and—crucially—no one can freeze or seize it unless they have your private key.