A field guide
Bitcoin.
No hype.
No doubling.
Six short chapters on what Bitcoin is, how it works, and how to keep your money away from people who promise to multiply it.
What it is
Bitcoin is digital money that runs on a public network instead of a bank.
It launched in 2009, created by someone using the name Satoshi Nakamoto. Nobody owns the network. Thousands of computers around the world keep a copy of every transaction ever made.
That shared record is the blockchain. Because everyone can check it, nobody can quietly change who owns what, and nobody can create coins outside the rules.
How a payment works
- SignYour wallet signs the payment with your private key.
- BroadcastThe signed payment is sent to the network.
- MineMiners bundle payments into a block, about every 10 minutes.
- ConfirmEach new block on top makes the payment harder to undo.
Once confirmed, a Bitcoin payment can't be reversed. There is no bank to call.
Supply & halving
New bitcoin are created as a reward for miners. Every 210,000 blocks the reward is cut in half, so new supply slows down over time until it stops around the year 2140.
Bitcoin ⇄ satoshis
One bitcoin divides into 100,000,000 satoshis ("sats"), so you never need a whole one.
Keys & wallets
Whoever has the private key controls the bitcoin. That's the whole rule.
A wallet is software or a small device that stores your keys. Most wallets give you a recovery phrase of 12 or 24 words. Write it down offline and never share it.
No real company, support agent or website will ever ask for your recovery phrase. Anyone who asks for it is trying to take your bitcoin.
Spot the scam
A "Bitcoin doubler" is a scam. Always.
Doubler sites ask you to send bitcoin and promise to send back twice as much, often "automatically" through "high-frequency trading" or "AI". Nothing comes back. Because Bitcoin payments can't be reversed, the money is gone.
No program can double money on demand. If it could, its owners wouldn't need yours. The same goes for "guaranteed daily returns", "giveaways" where you send first, and "investment managers" who contact you out of the blue.
Red-flag checker
Got an offer? Tick everything that applies.
Tick a box to see the verdict.
Words to know
- Block
- A batch of confirmed transactions added to the chain about every 10 minutes.
- Mining
- Using computers to add blocks, rewarded with new bitcoin and fees.
- Halving
- The cut in the mining reward every 210,000 blocks.
- Satoshi
- The smallest unit: one hundred-millionth of a bitcoin.
- Private key
- The secret that proves you own your bitcoin.
- Recovery phrase
- 12 or 24 words that can restore your wallet. Never share it.