Q1. What Is Bitcoin (BTC)?

Bitcoin (BTC) is a decentralized digital currency that was first introduced in a 2008 whitepaper by an anonymous figure or group under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto. The cryptocurrency officially launched in January 2009.

As a peer-to-peer (P2P) digital payment system, Bitcoin allows users to send and receive payments directly without relying on banks or other financial intermediaries. According to Nakamoto, Bitcoin was created to enable “online payments to be sent directly from one party to another without going through a financial institution.”

While there were earlier attempts at creating digital money, Bitcoin was the first cryptocurrency to achieve widespread adoption and real-world usage.

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Q2. Who Created Bitcoin?

Bitcoin’s creator is known only by the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto. Despite numerous investigations and theories, the true identity—whether an individual or a group—remains unknown as of 2021.

On October 31, 2008, Nakamoto published the Bitcoin whitepaper outlining a system for a decentralized digital currency using cryptographically secured transaction blocks—what we now know as blockchain. On January 3, 2009, Nakamoto mined Bitcoin’s first-ever block, known as the “genesis block,” marking the official start of the Bitcoin network.

Bitcoin had no initial price, and early coins were earned through mining using standard personal computers. The first real-world transaction occurred on May 22, 2010, when developer Laszlo Hanyecz exchanged 10,000 BTC for two pizzas—now commemorated annually as “Bitcoin Pizza Day.” At mid-September 2021 prices, those BTC would be worth approximately $478 million.

Nakamoto eventually handed over the project’s reins—including the alert key and code repository—to developer Gavin Andresen. Over time, hundreds of developers have contributed to Bitcoin's codebase, including Wladimir J. van der Laan, Pieter Wuille, Marco Falke, Jonas Schnelli, and others.

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Q3. What Makes Bitcoin Unique?

Bitcoin holds the distinction of being the first cryptocurrency, which gave it a first-mover advantage and sparked an entire industry. It laid the technological foundation for thousands of altcoins and blockchain-based projects that followed.

Bitcoin introduced the idea of borderless, decentralized digital money—a concept that now underpins a $2 trillion crypto market. It enables anyone, anywhere to transfer value without banks or intermediaries.

Despite rising competition, Bitcoin remains the most valuable cryptocurrency by market capitalization. It reached a historic high of $64,863.10 in April 2021 and surpassed a $1 trillion market cap due to increased institutional interest and expanding real-world applications like exchanges, wallets, games, and merchant services.

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Q4. How Many Bitcoins Exist?

Bitcoin’s total supply is capped at 21 million coins, as defined by its protocol. New BTC are issued through mining, where computers solve complex problems to validate transaction blocks.

Miners are rewarded for each successfully added block. When Bitcoin launched, the reward was 50 BTC per block. This amount halves every 210,000 blocks—roughly every four years. As of 2020, the reward is 6.25 BTC per block following the third halving.

Unlike some other coins, Bitcoin was not premined, meaning none were allocated to founders ahead of launch. Early miners, including Nakamoto, benefited from low competition and may have accumulated large BTC holdings—Nakamoto is estimated to own over 1 million BTC.

Today, mining profitability depends on hash rate, electricity costs, and Bitcoin’s market price. At mid-September 2021 rates, 6.25 BTC per block equals around $299,200.

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Q5. How Is Bitcoin Secured?

Bitcoin uses the SHA-256 cryptographic algorithm, part of the SHA-2 family. This secure hashing function protects transaction integrity and underpins the blockchain’s security. Bitcoin Cash (BCH) and several other coins also use SHA-256.

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Q6. Is Bitcoin a Store of Value?

Bitcoin is widely considered a decentralized store of value, often compared to digital gold. While its use as a currency is debated, many holders prefer to HODL (hold long-term) rather than spend it, anticipating long-term price appreciation.

Ownership is verifiable, and the smallest unit—0.00000001 BTC—is called a “Satoshi,” named after its creator. At 2021 prices, one Satoshi equals approximately $0.00048.

Bitcoin's potential to become a new global standard for value storage and exchange continues to grow, especially as adoption increases.

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Q7. How Does Bitcoin Get Upgraded?

Bitcoin upgrades occur via forks—protocol changes that alter how the network functions:

• Hard Forks: These are non-backward-compatible changes that require all nodes to upgrade. They create two separate blockchains, like the 2017 fork that led to Bitcoin Cash (BCH).
  
  

• Soft Forks: These are backward-compatible changes requiring only a majority of miners to enforce new rules. Old nodes still recognize new blocks as valid.
  

Examples of forks include:

• Bitcoin → Bitcoin Cash (BCH)
  
  

• Ethereum → Ethereum Classic (ETC)
  
  

• Bitcoin Cash → Bitcoin SV (BSV)
  
  

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Q8. What Is Taproot?

Taproot is a soft fork upgrade that includes BIP 340, 341, and 342. It enhances Bitcoin’s scalability, efficiency, and privacy by introducing two key features:

• MAST (Merkelized Abstract Syntax Tree): Allows conditional execution of smart contracts for improved privacy.
  
  

• Schnorr Signatures: Enable signature aggregation, making complex multi-signature transactions appear like simple ones—saving space and fees.
  
  

Though regular users may not notice immediate changes, Taproot sets the foundation for advanced smart contract functionality and may eventually support a Bitcoin-based DeFi ecosystem.

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Q9. What Is the Lightning Network?

The Lightning Network is a layer-2 payment protocol built on top of Bitcoin that allows for near-instantaneous, low-cost transactions. It uses bidirectional payment channels to enable private and scalable transactions off-chain, reducing congestion and fees on the main blockchain.

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Q10. Who Are the Largest Corporate Bitcoin Holders?

Once deemed too risky, Bitcoin is now embraced by major corporations. MicroStrategy was a pioneer, investing $425 million in Bitcoin in 2020. By August 30, 2022, it had accumulated 129,699 BTC—over $2.5 billion worth—making it the largest public holder.

Other top corporate holders include:

• Marathon Digital Holdings: 10,054 BTC
  
  

• Coinbase: 9,000 BTC
  
  

• Square (now Block Inc.): 8,027 BTC
  
  

• Hut 8 Mining Corp.: 7,078 BTC
  
  

Tesla also made headlines with its significant BTC investment.

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Q11. Is Bitcoin Political?

Bitcoin is increasingly intertwined with politics. In 2021, El Salvador became the first country to accept Bitcoin as legal tender, spearheaded by President Nayib Bukele. Plans are underway for a geothermal-powered "Bitcoin City."

Meanwhile, other countries like Mexico and Russia have floated similar ideas but have yet to follow through. In stark contrast, China banned all crypto transactions and heavily cracked down on mining in 2021. Despite this, China remains the second-largest contributor to Bitcoin’s global hash rate, after the U.S.

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Q12. What’s the Current Price of Bitcoin?

Bitcoin’s price is highly volatile and fluctuates 24/7. It can vary across exchanges and regions due to market dynamics, liquidity, and regulations. BTC started at less than a cent and has climbed to thousands of dollars per coin, depending on the market.

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Q13. Where Can You Buy Bitcoin (BTC)?

Bitcoin is the most widely traded cryptocurrency and is available on nearly every exchange. SUNCRYPTO is the major platform in India, to trade BTC in INR and USDT pairings.