Bitcoin Learning Center

Bitcoin is a digital currency that facilitates peer-to-peer transactions. The Bitcoin network is maintained by miners who add blocks to the blockchain. Bitcoin’s supply is predetermined and cannot be changed.

Bitcoin can be purchased in a variety of ways using several different payment methods. Brokerages, exchanges, and peer-to-peer networks offer trade-offs between liquidity, security, and privacy.

Learning how to send and receive bitcoin is easy, and does not require a complete understanding of Bitcoin. Wallets and services allow users to easily send, receive, and store their bitcoin. You can also use your brokerage to send and receive bitcoin.

Bitcoin’s unique features make it valuable in the eyes of its holders. Notably, its scarce, auditable supply is not controlled by a government or other monolithic entity.

Backing a currency is a method to control the value of its price by connecting it to another commodity. Bitcoin is not backed by any other asset. Gold and fiat currencies are not backed by anything either.

Financial markets facilitate the trading of financial assets across many participants. These markets are usually owned by a company who pairs buyers and sellers of different assets and maintains the market’s fairness.

Bitcoin wallets store and protect the public and private keys, allowing you to send, receive, and store bitcoin. Bitcoin wallets can come in the form of software or hardware devices.

Bitcoin wallets hold a user's keys, allowing them to sign transactions on the Bitcoin blockchain. Wallets also allow users to receive bitcoin and store it securely.

A cold storage wallet has keys that never touch an internet-connected computer. Cold storage offers superior security at the cost of lower convenience.

Bitcoin mining secures the Bitcoin network, confirms transactions and releases new coins into the Bitcoin ecosystem. Here is a brief look at how it all works.

The Bitcoin halving is an event that happens approximately every four years, when the bitcoin reward miners earn for finding a new block is cut in half. This algorithm reduces Bitcoin's inflation rate and enforces its scarcity.

When all bitcoin have been mined, miner revenue will depend entirely on transaction fees. The cost of transaction fees and purchasing power of bitcoin will likely adjust higher to the lack of new supply.

Filing taxes on bitcoin losses, gains, and any bitcoin earned income is necessary to avoid additional taxes or penalties by the IRS. Different bitcoin activities create different taxable events.

Bitcoin investors looking to pass their wealth on to future generations, while keeping their bitcoin private and secure, should consider investing bitcoin in a trust.

Family offices prioritize preserving, growing, and distributing their wealth over time. Investing in Bitcoin can assist family offices in meeting their investment goals and priorities.

Blockchain is the technology that underpins Bitcoin and allows its users to exchange value without a central intermediary. A blockchain is a database containing the entire history of Bitcoin transactions.

Bitcoin is a peer-to-peer currency that is a network of nodes running Bitcoin software. A node is able to receive and communicate transaction information with other nodes in the Bitcoin network. Bitcoin nodes store and verify the blockchain.

The Lightning Network facilitates instant, near-feeless payments for Bitcoin. These payments happen on a secondary network instead of Bitcoin’s blockchain.