Bitcoin Price Today

The current real-time Bitcoin price is $98,473.74 . BTC price has grew by 2.78% in the last day and decreased by 3.26% in the last seven days. It’s important to note that the current Bitcoin market capitalization is $1.95T. The maximum supply is 21,000,000.00 BTC coins, with a circulating supply of 19,799,059.00. Bitcoin is ranked #1 in terms of market cap.

What Is Bitcoin and Who Created It

Bitcoin is a decentralized digital cryptocurrency that operates on a peer-to-peer network without the need for intermediaries like banks or governments. It works through blockchain technology, a public ledger that records all transactions securely and transparently. Bitcoin aims to serve as an alternative to traditional currencies, allowing for fast, low-cost, and borderless transactions. 

With Bitcoin, you can make digital payments, store value as an investment, trade on cryptocurrency exchanges, and even use it to purchase goods and services from merchants who accept it. The currency is created through Bitcoin mining, where powerful computers solve complex mathematical problems to validate transactions and add new blocks to the blockchain. Miners are rewarded with newly minted Bitcoins.

The creator of Bitcoin is known under the pseudonym “Satoshi Nakamoto.” Since the release of the Bitcoin White Paper in 2008, the real identity of the first cryptocurrency's owner has never been confirmed and remains a mystery to this day.

Bitcoin Mining At A Glance

Bitcoin mining is a crucial process in the Bitcoin network that uses proof-of-work consensus to validate transactions and add new blocks to the blockchain. Miners employ powerful computers to solve complex mathematical equations, competing to add a new block approximately every 11 minutes. Successful miners are rewarded with 6.25 BTC per block, introducing new circulating Bitcoins. The number of new Bitcoins released halves every four years, known as the Bitcoin halving. The network self-regulates by adjusting the difficulty of these equations based on the number of active miners.

Miners often join mining pools to increase their chances of earning rewards, combining their processing power. This system ensures the security and decentralization of the Bitcoin network while also serving as the mechanism for creating new Bitcoins.

Why People Are Buying Bitcoin

Bitcoin is a popular asset for investors, and it is not being used as a digital currency, as originally intended in the whitepaper. Initially, users purchased Bitcoin to conduct anonymous online transactions on the dark web. However, as anonymity shifted away from Bitcoin using centralized cryptocurrency exchanges, investors who understand the fundamental aspects of limited supply and growing demand have altered the perception from a digital currency into an investable asset. A recent survey by Grayscale revealed that 47% of Americans will invest in crypto after the 2024 election. Others even believe that Bitcoin could become a global reserve currency alongside the US Dollar.

Early adopters used Bitcoin to make everyday purchases. For example, the well-known million-dollar pizza BTC pizza was purchased in 2010. As its popularity increased among individuals, its application as a currency stalled due to heightened volatility. Investors turned to hold the digital asset to appreciate in the hopes of becoming the next Bitcoin millionaire.

Related: How to safely buy Bitcoin.

Is Bitcoin Worth Investing In?

Investors who understand the fundamental aspects of limited supply and growing demand realize the shift from a digital currency into an investable asset value. Bitcoin is currently the 9th largest investable asset with a total market capitalization of $835.78 Billion at the time of writing. According to statistics, approximately 81 million Bitcoin wallets have been created to buy, hold, and store Bitcoins. The supply and demand equation suggests a favorable outcome given the fixed amount of Bitcoins and growing interest. Moreover, Bitcoin can hedge against increasing inflation due to the uncontrolled printing of fiat currencies.