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| {{Special characters}}
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| {{Infobox cryptocurrency
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| | name = Bitcoin
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| | image = Bitcoin.png
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| | image_size = 150px
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| | caption = Commonly used logo of bitcoin
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| | symbol = ₿
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| | ticker = BTC
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| | precision = 10⁻8
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| | plural = Bitcoins
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| | subunits =
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| * Millibitcoin (mBTC) – 1/1000
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| * Bit (μBTC) – 1/100000
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| * Satoshi (sat) – 1/10000000
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| * Millisatoshi (msat) – 1/100000000000
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| | latest_release_version = 30.0.0
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| | latest_release_date = 11 October 2025
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| | code_repository = https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin
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| | programming_language = C++
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| | white_paper = ''Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System''
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| | author = [[Satoshi Nakamoto]]
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| | license = MIT License
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| | ledger_start = 3 January 2009
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| | hash_function = SHA-256 (two rounds)
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| | timestamping = Proof of work (partial hash inversion)
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| | block_reward = ₿3.125
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| | block_time = 10 minutes
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| | supply_limit = ₿21,000,000
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| | circulating_supply = ₿19,934,271 (as of 14 October 2025)
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| | website = {{URL|https://bitcoin.org}}
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| }}
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| '''Bitcoin''' (abbreviated '''BTC'''; symbol: '''₿''') is a decentralized digital asset and the first widely adopted [[cryptocurrency]].
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| It was introduced in 2008 when an individual or group working under the pseudonym ''Satoshi Nakamoto'' published a white paper outlining a peer-to-peer system for electronic transactions without the need for a central authority.<ref name="whoissn">{{Cite news |last=S. |first=L. |date=2 November 2015 |title=Who is Satoshi Nakamoto? |newspaper=The Economist |url=https://www.economist.com/the-economist-explains/2015/11/02/who-is-satoshi-nakamoto |access-date=21 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201122172929/https://www.economist.com/the-economist-explains/2015/11/02/who-is-satoshi-nakamoto |archive-date=22 November 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref>
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| Bitcoin’s software implementation was released as open-source in early 2009,<ref name="NY2011">{{Cite magazine |last=Davis |first=Joshua |date=10 October 2011 |title=The Crypto-Currency: Bitcoin and its mysterious inventor |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2011/10/10/the-crypto-currency |access-date=31 October 2014 |magazine=The New Yorker |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141101014157/http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2011/10/10/the-crypto-currency |archive-date=1 November 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref> enabling the first transactions on its distributed ledger, known as the [[blockchain]]. The protocol uses [[public-key cryptography]] to verify ownership and a proof-of-work mechanism—commonly associated with mining—to secure the network and achieve consensus between participating computers.<ref name="Antonopoulos2014">{{Cite book |last=Antonopoulos |first=Andreas M. |title=Mastering Bitcoin: Unlocking Digital Crypto-Currencies |year=2014 |publisher=O'Reilly Media |isbn=978-1-4493-7404-4}}</ref>{{rp|ch. 1}}
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| Bitcoin gained international recognition during the 2010s and early 2020s, eventually becoming legal tender in El Salvador between 2021 and 2025—the first instance of nationwide adoption of a cryptocurrency as official currency.<ref name="FTlegal">{{cite news |title=El Salvador's dangerous gamble on bitcoin |url=https://www.ft.com/content/c257a925-c864-4495-9149-d8956d786310 |date=7 September 2021 |access-date=7 September 2021 |work=Financial Times |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210907081627/https://www.ft.com/content/c257a925-c864-4495-9149-d8956d786310 |archive-date=7 September 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref>
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| Although Bitcoin allows users to transact pseudonymously, its association with criminal activity and market volatility has contributed to restrictions and prohibitions in several countries.<ref name="SunYin2019">{{Cite journal |last1=Sun Yin |first1=Hao Hua |last2=Langenheldt |first2=Klaus |last3=Harlev |first3=Mikkel |last4=Mukkamala |first4=Raghava Rao |last5=Vatrapu |first5=Ravi |date=2 January 2019 |title=Regulating Cryptocurrencies: A Supervised Machine Learning Approach to De-Anonymizing the Bitcoin Blockchain |journal=Journal of Management Information Systems |volume=36 |issue=1 |pages=65–92 |doi=10.1080/07421222.2018.1550550 |access-date=29 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240421113631/https://www.researchgate.net/publication/332118587_Regulating_Cryptocurrencies_A_Supervised_Machine_Learning_Approach_to_De-Anonymizing_the_Bitcoin_Blockchain |archive-date=21 April 2024 |url-status=live}}</ref>
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| Despite regulatory uncertainty, Bitcoin remains the most widely recognized and valuable digital currency, supported by a global network of nodes, exchanges, wallet providers, and payment services.
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| ==History==
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| {{Main|History of bitcoin}}
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| ===Background===
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| Before Bitcoin’s introduction in 2009, multiple attempts had been made to design digital forms of money that could function without conventional financial intermediaries. Early work in this field can be traced to the 1980s with [[David Chaum]]’s ''ecash'', which relied on a centralized server for issuing and validating cryptographic tokens.<ref name="Narayanan2017">{{Cite journal |last1=Narayanan |first1=Arvind |last2=Clark |first2=Jeremy |date=27 November 2017 |title=Bitcoin's academic pedigree |journal=Communications of the ACM |volume=60 |issue=12 |pages=36–45 |doi=10.1145/3132259 |s2cid=6425116 |issn=0001-0782 |access-date=22 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231014120907/https://queue.acm.org/detail.cfm?id=3136559 |archive-date=14 October 2023 |url-status=live |url-access=subscription}}</ref>
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| In the 1990s, the idea that computational puzzles could provide economic value inspired further work. Cryptographers [[Cynthia Dwork]] and [[Moni Naor]] proposed the use of proof-of-work functions in 1992 as a means of combating email spam by forcing senders to expend computational effort.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Dwork |first1=Cynthia |last2=Naor |first2=Moni |title=Pricing via Processing or Combatting Junk Mail |date=1993 |work=Advances in Cryptology — CRYPTO ’92 |volume=740 |pages=139–147 |publisher=Springer |doi=10.1007/3-540-48071-4_10 |isbn=978-3-540-57340-1 |url=http://link.springer.com/10.1007/3-540-48071-4_10 |access-date=2 January 2025}}</ref><ref name="Narayanan2017" />
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| The concept resurfaced in 1997 when [[Adam Back]] introduced [[Hashcash]], a proof-of-work scheme designed to deter bulk email attacks.<ref name="Narayanan2017" /> Although Hashcash was not intended as a digital currency, its mechanism became a foundational element of Bitcoin’s design.
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| Inspired by the cypherpunk movement, several proposals for decentralized digital money emerged in 1998. [[Wei Dai]]’s ''b-money'' and [[Nick Szabo]]’s ''bit gold'' each outlined systems for creating scarce digital assets without trusted third parties, though neither achieved practical deployment.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Tschorsch |first1=Florian |last2=Scheuermann |first2=Bjorn |date=2 March 2016 |title=Bitcoin and Beyond: A Technical Survey on Decentralized Digital Currencies |journal=IEEE Communications Surveys & Tutorials |volume=18 |issue=3 |pages=2084–2123 |doi=10.1109/COMST.2016.2535718 |s2cid=5115101 |issn=1553-877X }}</ref>
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| In 2004, developer [[Hal Finney (cypherpunk)|Hal Finney]] built the first reusable proof-of-work system, which introduced features resembling later cryptocurrencies.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Judmayer |first1=Aljosha |chapter=History of Cryptographic Currencies |date=2017 |title=Blocks and Chains |pages=15–18 |publisher=Springer |doi=10.1007/978-3-031-02352-1_3 |isbn=978-3-031-01224-2 |chapter-url=https://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-3-031-02352-1_3 |access-date=22 November 2023 |url-status=live}}</ref>
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| Despite these advancements, pre-Bitcoin systems suffered from limitations such as centralization, vulnerability to double-spending, or susceptibility to Sybil attacks.<ref name="Narayanan2017" />
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| ===Creation===
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| Bitcoin was formally introduced on 31 October 2008, when a white paper titled ''Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System'' was posted to the Cryptography Mailing List by a user identifying as ''Satoshi Nakamoto''. The document proposed a decentralized network in which participants could collectively maintain a public ledger using proof-of-work to validate transactions.<ref name="whoissn" />
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| The first version of the Bitcoin software (v0.1) was released in January 2009.<ref name="Antonopoulos2014" />{{rp|ch. 1}} Nakamoto mined the “genesis block,” marking the start of the blockchain on 3 January 2009. Embedded in this first block was a headline from ''The Times'' newspaper referencing the ongoing financial crisis, interpreted by many as a commentary on the fragility of centralized banking.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks |newspaper=The Times |date=3 January 2009 |url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/chancellor-on-brink-of-second-bailout-for-banks-tln62bt7n |access-date=15 January 2024}}</ref>
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| The first publicly verified Bitcoin transaction occurred when Hal Finney received 10 BTC from Nakamoto on 12 January 2009.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bitcoin: First Transaction |url=https://www.bitcoinhistory.org/first-transaction/ |access-date=15 January 2024}}</ref> Nakamoto continued to collaborate with early developers until 2010, after which their involvement gradually diminished before ceasing entirely. Nakamoto’s identity remains unknown.
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| ===Early development===
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| During its first years, Bitcoin attracted attention among cryptography hobbyists and online communities. In 2010, the first notable commercial transaction was recorded when a programmer famously purchased two pizzas for 10,000 BTC, an event now commemorated annually as “Bitcoin Pizza Day.”<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bitcoin Pizza Day |url=https://bitcoinpizzaindex.net/ |access-date=10 January 2024}}</ref>
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| The establishment of cryptocurrency exchanges beginning in 2010 enabled wider participation, making it possible to convert bitcoins into government-issued currencies. Early volatility was common, and security breaches at several exchanges brought further scrutiny.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Mt. Gox: A history of the world's largest Bitcoin exchange |work=BBC News |date=25 February 2014 |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-26343359 |access-date=10 January 2024}}</ref>
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| ===Growing mainstream attention===
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| By the mid-2010s, Bitcoin had gained global recognition. Media coverage, corporate interest, and the emergence of derivative markets contributed to rising adoption. At the same time, regulators began issuing warnings about the risks associated with cryptocurrency trading, including fraud, price manipulation, and security vulnerabilities.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Yermack |first=David |title=Is Bitcoin a Real Currency? An Economic Appraisal |journal=Journal of Economic Perspectives |volume=29 |issue=2 |year=2015 |pages=213–238 |doi=10.1257/jep.29.2.213}}</ref>
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