

But new developments like inscriptions (data storage) are bringing new functionality to the Bitcoin network, including Bitcoin’s own version of NFTs and BRC-20 tokens that trade on the Bitcoin network. For standard transactions, it’s trivial to see which wallet sent Bitcoin to which wallet, how much, and when the transaction happened.īitcoin was designed to be money, a verifiable and secure way to send value from person A to person B.

Like most other cryptocurrencies, the Bitcoin network works as a public ledger. In addition to being the first among the current digital currencies, Bitcoin is also seen by many as being the most secure crypto network, largely due to its wide mining network and Bitcoin’s steadfast commitment to proof-of-work as its consensus method to validate transactions. While today’s crypto market offers thousands of other cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin still stands in a league of its own, topping the charts with the largest market capitalization and the best name recognition worldwide. Many predict new all-time highs yet to come, while others are more bearish on Bitcoin’s future. By 2022, BTC had reached an all-time high approaching $70,000. In its early days, Bitcoin traded for a fraction of a penny.

Created in 2009, Bitcoin was the first of today’s cryptocurrencies, later giving inspiration to projects like Ethereum and thousands of other crypto projects. Bitcoin is a peer-to-peer electronic cash system, as described in the now-famous Bitcoin white paper.
