The world’s first decentralized digital cash
You can store and send value digitally, without permission, without a middleman. With cash, you hand it over directly.
Before Bitcoin, every digital payment required a third party in the middle: banks, PayPal, credit card companies. They decide whether your payment goes through, and they see everything.
Bitcoin removed the middleman. For the first time, you pay directly, digitally, with no one in between.
Why Bitcoin matters
The money in your bank account doesn’t legally belong to you. It’s a claim against the bank. Your payment can be declined, your account frozen. Your savings lose purchasing power every year. Central banks expand the money supply, low interest rates distort prices, and the resulting malinvestment costs everyone.
Bitcoin offers an alternative: digital property without central control. Limited in supply, censorship-resistant, open to everyone.
The three pillars of Bitcoin
1. Absolute scarcity
21 million maximum, hard-coded into the protocol. No government, no company can change the total supply. Much like the meter is a universal unit of length, Bitcoin could become a universal unit of value.
2. Censorship resistance
Tens of thousands of computers worldwide run the network together. In self-custody, nobody can freeze your funds. You can verify the rules yourself.
3. Open to all
Bank account: IDs, credit checks, approval.
Bitcoin: an internet connection and a free app. Financial inclusion, worldwide, instant, permissionless.
Bitcoin vs. Euro vs. Gold
| Euro (Fiat) | Gold | Bitcoin | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Issuer | Central banks | Nature | Nobody (decentralized) |
| Supply | No fixed cap | Limited (~2%/year) | Strictly limited (21M) |
| Transport | Digital, but through banks | Heavy, expensive | Digital, direct |
| Surveillance | Complete | None (physical) | Pseudonymous |
| Trust | In institutions | In physical possession | In mathematics |
How does Bitcoin work?
The blockchain
A shared ledger recording every transaction, not locked in a bank vault. Every participant holds an identical copy. Nobody can alter an entry without everyone else seeing it.
The miners
Miners write new pages in the ledger. They contribute computing power to confirm transactions. This energy expenditure, called “Proof of Work,” secures the network. Fraud costs more than it could yield.
Your keys
You access your bitcoin through a digital key: the private key. Whoever holds this key controls the funds. More on this in the Security Guide.
Bitcoin in Austria
Bitcoin has arrived in everyday life in Austria. Businesses accept it, Bitcoin ATMs are widespread, and an active community holds regular meetups.
FAQ
What’s the difference between Bitcoin and blockchain?
The blockchain is the ledger. It records who sent how much to whom. Bitcoin is the money recorded in that ledger and the rules by which participants maintain it. Without Bitcoin, the blockchain would have nothing to record.
Do I need to understand everything to use Bitcoin?
No. You don’t need to know how the internet works to send an email. Bitcoin works the same way: an app is enough to get started. The more you understand, the more sovereignty you gain.
How long does a Bitcoin payment take?
On the blockchain, about 10 minutes. For everyday payments, Lightning settles in seconds.
Is Bitcoin anonymous?
Pseudonymous, not anonymous. Transactions are publicly visible but not directly linked to names. With the right techniques, you can protect your privacy.
