Bitcoin
The first and largest cryptocurrency.
Bitcoin is a decentralized digital currency with a capped supply. It is often treated as a high-risk, high-volatility asset.
Bitcoin, launched in 2009, was the first cryptocurrency and remains the largest by market value. Its defining feature is a hard cap: no more than 21 million coins will ever exist, enforced by the code. New supply is released to miners as a block reward that halves roughly every four years, an event called the halving, which steadily slows the rate of new issuance.
That fixed supply is why some treat Bitcoin as digital gold, a hedge against currencies that can be printed without limit. In practice it still trades as a high-risk, high-volatility asset that can swing sharply with sentiment and liquidity. The halving cycle is closely watched because it cuts new supply on a known schedule, though how much of it is already priced in is a permanent argument among traders.