The first decentralized cryptocurrency, launched in 2009, which uses a public blockchain and proof of work to record transactions.
Bitcoin was introduced in a 2008 whitepaper by the pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamoto and went live in January 2009. It allows people to send value directly to one another without a bank, with transactions recorded on a public ledger maintained by a global network of computers.
New blocks are added through mining, a proof of work process in which miners compete to solve a computational puzzle and are rewarded with newly issued bitcoin and transaction fees. The protocol caps total supply at 21 million coins, which supporters say makes it resistant to inflation. Critics point to price volatility, energy consumption, and its use in illicit activity. Regulation and tax treatment of bitcoin vary widely between countries.
A shared, append-only digital ledger in which records are grouped into blocks that are cryptographically linked in sequence.
CryptocurrencyA digital currency secured by cryptography and typically recorded on a decentralized blockchain rather than issued by a central bank.
Proof of WorkA blockchain consensus mechanism in which miners compete to solve computational puzzles to add new blocks and secure the network.
A plain-English map of who regulates crypto in the US, from the SEC and CFTC to Treasury, bank regulators and states, plus where the GENIUS and CLARITY Acts stand.
How bank impersonation scams use spoofed caller ID and a fraud-alert script to get you to move your own money, the red flags to watch for, and what to do if you've been hit.
Who has to run KYC and AML checks in crypto, what FinCEN and OFAC expect, how the Travel Rule works, and what a merchant accepting crypto actually needs to do.