Bitcoin

Bitcoin was the first cryptocurrency and is still the largest. Its supply is capped, its rules are set in code and its price is famously volatile. Here is how it works and what its recent price history looks like.

The basics

Bitcoin launched in January 2009, created by a person or group using the name Satoshi Nakamoto. It runs on proof of work: miners compete to add blocks about every 10 minutes and earn new bitcoin as a reward. The total supply can never exceed 21 million coins.

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