Bitcoin, Explained Simply
Bitcoin does not keep a balance for you. It keeps coins. That one difference explains almost everything else about it.
Bitcoin was the first shared notebook. It started in 2009. Everything else in this series came after it.
The one difference
Your bank keeps a number for you. If you have 100 and you send 30, the bank changes your number to 70.
Bitcoin does not do this. Bitcoin keeps coins, like notes in your pocket.
If you hold one coin worth 100 and you send 30, Bitcoin does not cut your coin. It spends the whole coin. It sends 30 to the other person, and it sends 70 back to you as a new coin.
This is the same thing you do with cash. You pay with a large note and you take the change.
Why this matters
Because of this, Bitcoin can check a payment very easily. It only asks one question. Does this coin exist, and has it been spent before?
That simple rule is why Bitcoin is hard to attack. There is less to go wrong.
What Bitcoin is good at
It is the oldest chain. It is the most tested. More people trust it than any other.
It is slower than the newer chains. A payment takes minutes, not seconds. And it costs more to send than most of the chains in this series.
So people use it to hold value and to send large amounts, more than for small daily payments.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is Bitcoin different from a bank account?
A bank keeps one number for you and changes it. Bitcoin keeps coins, like notes in your pocket. When you pay, it spends a whole coin and sends the change back to you.
Why is Bitcoin slower than other blockchains?
Bitcoin adds a new page to the notebook about every ten minutes. Newer chains add pages in seconds. Bitcoin chose safety and simplicity over speed.
Is Bitcoin good for small payments?
Usually no. The fee is higher than on newer chains, so small payments cost too much. People mostly use Bitcoin to hold value or to send large amounts.