Bitcoin Basics

The mysterious founder of Bitcoin was Satoshi Nakamoto, which is most likely a pseudonym. Mr. Sakamoto disappeared from the public about 1 year after Bitcoin's release, and is considered dead by now. Bitcoin's development has been taken over by a team of 100+ highly skilled developers worldwide since and has grown beyond anyone's expectations. It's been a rough but amazing journey, with the occasional hiccups and obstacles of a completely new and revolutionary technology, but a constant inspiration to thousands of 'wannabe Bitcoins' and the overall new technology sector Bitcoin's technology is based on - blockchain technology and the tokenization of assets. Due to it's unique features though, Bitcoin is considered as a completely new asset class comparable to gold (thus also dubbed as 'digital gold') and could one day even be used as a collateral for state-level currencies.

As an investor in Bitcoin (BTC), you can rely on a groundbreaking technology which implications usually take months (if not longer) to fully grasp. I've been in the cryptocurrency space for longer than 2 years by now and am still learning and more amazed the deeper I dig into Bitcoin.


Main Bitcoin Features

  • Crazy developers

    Bitcoin is not 'managed' by a centralized company, but 'grows' in an evolutionary-like process triggered by extensive community discussions of adaptations to ongoing necessities in accordance with the original Bitcoin vision.

  • Fast, reliable transactions

    Bitcoin is not the fastest cryptocurrency, but considering the system of permissionless, decentralized bookkeeping, still very fast and reliable. New payment methods allow for payments within 1-2 seconds.

  • Cheap transactions

    Bitcoin transactions are very cheap compared to banks, with new technologies like it's Lightning Network, they usually only cost fractions of a cent. Run a Bitcoin and/or Lightning Node on your home computer an help to secure the network - it's free.

Where to buy Bitcoin ('BTC')?

BTC can be purchased at all relevant cryptocurrency exchanges, usually directly using Fiat (like USD or EUR) legacy currencies. You don't have to buy a full Bitcoin (BTC), but can also purchase fractions of it (like 0.25 BTC or whatever you prefer).

To purchase BTC (Bitcoin), you have to use an exchange service like the ones above. If you have never used an exchange before, just register at one of them - this may involve a KYC ('know your customer' / identification) process that can take a few minutes up to a few days, comparable to a registration at a legacy bank. But once you're done, you're ready to go: you can transfer USD, EUR or another currency to the exchange and then buy an amount of Bitcoin. They will be deposited into the exchange's wallet first - make sure you withdraw them into your very own, personal wallet at the next chance (read below for details). Don't leave them at an exchange for longer than absolutely necessary.

Bitcoin Wallets

In the cryptocurrencies market, there are basically 2 types of investors: HODLers (investors who don't actively trade but simply wait for the value of their tokens to increase) and traders (who try to buy/sell in order to make more money, which is quite risky). However, it's generally not a good idea to leave your tokens at the exchange - if you stop trading for a while or if you're a HODLer, make sure you withdraw them into your own, personal wallet. Here are a few wallet options:

Most people prefer the Ledger Nano S hardware wallet which is a bit expensive with around 100 USD, but easy to use via USB, and it can hold several cryptocurrencies at once. It has additional security features that make it theoretically impossible for attackers to grab your tokens.
On wallets that are permanently connected to the Internet (like on your smartphone or desktop computer), you should not keep more Bitcoin than you can afford to lose - trojan horses may intercept your private key (the one that is used to access and recreate your wallet) and you might lose your Bitcoins.
For your main funds, go 100% safe and create a cold/offline wallet: you can also do that with the Desktop version of Electrum. Wasabi Wallet (Desktop) and Samourai Wallet (Android) both ensure fungibility and privacy.

Do you want to learn more?

Beginner's Resources

Want to dig deeper? Check out these: