Bitcoin Newcomers FAQ - Please read!

https://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/1f7n947/bitcoin_newcomers_faq_please_read/

created by BitcoinFan7 on 03/09/2024 at 01:05 UTC*

139 upvotes, 3 top-level comments (showing 3)

Welcome to the /r/Bitcoin Newcomers FAQ

You've probably been hearing a lot about Bitcoin recently and are wondering what's the big deal? Most of your questions should be answered by the resources below but if you have additional questions feel free to ask them in the comments.

It all started with the release of **Satoshi Nakamoto's whitepaper[1]** however that will probably go over the head of most readers so we recommend the following articles/books/videos as a good starting point for understanding how Bitcoin works and a little about its long term potential:

1: https://bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf

• Article: The Bullish Case for Bitcoin[2]
• Book: The Bitcoin Standard[3] - or download a free copy here[4]
• Video 1: An introduction to Bitcoin - Wences Casares[5]
• Video 2: The Stories We Tell About Money - Andreas Antonopoulos[6]
• Video 3: The Bitcoin Standard - Saifdean Ammous[7]
• Video 4: Bitcoin 101 - Balaji Srinivasan[8]

Some other great educational resources include;

2: https://medium.com/@vijayboyapati/the-bullish-case-for-bitcoin-6ecc8bdecc1

3: https://www.amazon.com/Bitcoin-Standard-Decentralized-Alternative-Central/dp/1119473861

4: http://cryptache.ro/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/The-Bitcoin-Standard-The-Decentralized-Alternative-to-Central-Banking-PDF-Room.pdf

5: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAFKJVLNVQA

6: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONvg9SbauMg

7: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zbm772vF-5M&t=286s

8: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIxwTx7o_B4

• The Satoshi Nakamoto Institute[9] (check them out!)
• Swan Bitcoin Canon[10]
• Michael Saylor's Hope.com[11] and "Bitcoin for Everybody"'[12] course
• Jameson Lopp's resource page[13]
• Gigi's resource page[14]
• James D'Angelo's Bitcoin 101 Blackboard series[15]
• Parker Lewis's Gradually Then Suddenly series[16]
• Some Bitcoin statistics can be found here (1[17], 2[18], 3[19], 4[20], 5[21], 6[22], 7[23]).
• A Reading List of Advanced Bitcoin Books[24]

If you are technically or academically inclined check out;

9: http://nakamotoinstitute.org/mempool/

10: https://www.swanbitcoin.com/canon/

11: https://hope.com/

12: https://learn.saylor.org/course/view.php?id=468

13: http://lopp.net/bitcoin.html

14: https://bitcoin-resources.com/#bitcoin-non-technical

15: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bhe61JaNFLU&list=PLzctEq7iZD-7-DgJM604zsndMapn9ff6q&index=7&t=0s

16: https://unchained.com/blog/category/gradually-then-suddenly/

17: https://www.lookintobitcoin.com/

18: https://data.bitcoinity.org/bitcoin/hashrate/6m?c=m&g=15&r=week&t=a

19: https://bitcoinvisuals.com/

20: https://bitcoin.clarkmoody.com/dashboard/

21: https://studio.glassnode.com/workbench/btc-price-performance-since-halving

22: https://augmentedcoin.io/btc

23: https://nakamotoportfolio.com/nakamoto/start

24: https://new.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/1c5fjhn/advanced_bitcoin_reading_list_curriculum_in_order/

• Developer resources (1[25], 2[26])
• Peer-reviewed research papers[27]
• Course lectures from both MIT[28] and Princeton[29]
• Future protocol improvements[30] and scaling resources[31].

MicroStrategy's Bitcoin for Corporations[32] is an excellent open source series on corporate legal and financial Bitcoin integration.

25: https://developer.bitcoin.org/

26: https://spiral.xyz/#projects

27: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1VaWhbAj7hWNdiE73P-W-wrl5a0WNgzjofmZXe0Rh5sg

28: https://ocw.mit.edu/courses/15-s12-blockchain-and-money-fall-2018/

29: https://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/7qynvj/dont_panic_just_learn_sixty_free_lectures_from/

30: http://diyhpl.us/wiki/transcripts/2018-01-24-rusty-russell-future-bitcoin-tech-directions/

31: https://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/56nnd8/the_scaling_bitcoin_website_is_awesome_videos/

32: https://www.microstrategy.com/en/resources/events/world-2021/bitcoin-summit?CID=7014W0000014yhJQAQ

You can also see the number of times Bitcoin was declared dead by the media[33] (LOL!)

33: https://99bitcoins.com/obituary-stats

Key properties of Bitcoin

• **Limited Supply** - There will only ever be a maximum of 21,000,000 bitcoins created[34] and they are issued in a predictable fashion per the inflation schedule[35]. Once they are all issued Bitcoin will be truly deflationary. The halving countdown[36] tells you approximately how much time until the next block reward halving.
• **Open source** - Bitcoin code is fully auditable. You can read and contribute to the source code[37] yourself.
• **Accountable** - The public ledger is transparent, all transactions are seen by everyone[38].
• **Decentralized** - Bitcoin is globally distributed across thousands of nodes with no single point of failure and as such can't be shut down similar to how Bittorrent[39] works. You can even run a node on a Raspberry Pi[40].
• **Censorship resistant** - No one can prevent you from interacting with the Bitcoin network and no one can censor, alter or block transactions that they disagree with, see Operation Chokepoint[41].
• **Push system** - There are no chargebacks[42] in Bitcoin because only the person who owns the address where the bitcoin resides has the authority to move them.
• **Borderless** - No country can stop it from going in/out, even in areas currently unserved by traditional banking as the ledger is globally distributed[43].
• **Trustless** - Bitcoin solved the Byzantine's Generals Problem[44] which means nobody needs to trust anybody for it to work.
• **Pseudonymous** - No need to expose personal information[45] when purchasing with cash or transacting.
• **Secure** - Blocks and transactions are cryptographically secured (using hashes and signatures) and can’t be brute forced[46] or confiscated with proper key management such as hardware wallets.
• **Programmable** - Individual units of bitcoin can be programmed to transfer[47] based on certain criteria being met
• **Divisible** - Each bitcoin can be [divided down to 8 decimals](https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Satoshi_(unit%5C[48])), which means you don't have to worry about buying an entire bitcoin.
• **Nearly instant** - From a few seconds on the Lightning Network to a few minutes[49] on-chain depending on need for confirmations. Transactions are irreversible by normal users after one confirmation and irreversible by anyone (including miners) after 6 confirmations.
• **Peer-to-peer** - No intermediaries taking a cut, no need for trusted third parties[50].
• **Designed Money** - Bitcoin was created to fit all the fundamental properties of money[51] better than gold or fiat.
• **Portable** - Bitcoin are digital so they are easier to move than cash or gold. They can be transported by simply carrying a seed (a string of 12 to 24 words) on a device or by memorizing it for wallet recovery[52] (while cool, memorizing is generally not recommended due to potential for forgetting the seed and the potential for insecure key generation by inexperienced users. Hardware wallets are the preferred method for most users for their ease of use and additional security).
• **Low fee scaling** - Most wallets calculate on chain fees automatically but you can view fee estimates[53] and mempool activity[54] if you want to set your fee manually. On chain fees may rise occasionally due to network demand, however instant micropayments that do not require confirmations are happening via the Lightning Network[55], an open source second layer payment protocol built on top of the Bitcoin blockchain. The Lightning Network enables Bitcoin users to instantly send and receive bitcoin with fees so low that they are negligible.
• **Scalable** - While the protocol is still being optimized for increased transaction capacity[56], blockchains do not scale very well, so most transaction volume is expected to occur on Layer 2 networks built on top of Bitcoin.

Where can I buy bitcoin?

Bitcoin.org[57] and BuyBitcoinWorldwide.com[58] are helpful sites for beginners. You can buy or sell any amount of bitcoin (even just a few dollars worth) and there are several easy methods to purchase bitcoin with cash, credit card or bank transfer. Some of the more popular places to buy bitcoin are listed below.

34: https://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/comments/10h04a6/this_is_how_we_know_theres_only_21_million_bitcoin/

35: https://bashco.github.io/Bitcoin_Monetary_Inflation/

36: http://bitcoinblockhalf.com/

37: https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin

38: https://blockstream.info/

39: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BitTorrent

40: https://getumbrel.com/

41: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Choke_Point

42: https://gendal.me/2013/10/21/lessons-from-bitcoin-push-versus-pull/

43: https://bitnodes.io/nodes/live-map/

44: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Byzantine_fault_tolerance

45: https://buybitcoinworldwide.com/anonymity/

46: http://i.imgur.com/fYFBsqp.jpg

47: https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Script

48: https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Satoshi_(unit%5C

49: https://www.blockchain.com/charts/median-confirmation-time

50: https://nakamotoinstitute.org/trusted-third-parties/

51: https://imgur.com/a/5w3l2A6

52: https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Brainwallet

53: https://river.com/learn/how-bitcoin-fees-work/

54: https://jochen-hoenicke.de/queue/#0,2w

55: https://lightning.network/

56: https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Scalability

57: https://bitcoin.org/en/buy

58: https://www.buybitcoinworldwide.com/

• Strike[59]
• Cash App[60]
• Swan[61]
• River Financial[62]
• Bull Bitcoin[63]
• Bitcoin Well[64]
• Relai[65]
• LibertyX[66]
• CoinCorner[67]
• Bisq[68] (decentralized & P2P)
• HodlHodl[69] (P2P)
• List of peer-to-peer exchanges[70]
• Debifi[71] (non-custodial lending)

You can also purchase in cash with local ATMs[72]. If you would like your paycheck automatically converted to bitcoin try Bitwage[73].

59: https://strike.me/

60: https://cash.app/

61: https://www.swanbitcoin.com/

62: https://river.com/

63: https://www.bullbitcoin.com/

64: https://bitcoinwell.com/

65: https://relai.app/

66: https://libertyx.com/

67: https://www.coincorner.com/

68: https://bisq.network/

69: https://hodlhodl.com/?filters%5Bcurrency_code%5D=USD

70: https://github.com/cointastical/P2P-Trading-Exchanges/

71: https://debifi.com/

72: http://coinatmradar.com/

73: https://www.bitwage.com/

• *Note:** Bitcoin are valued at whatever market price[74] people are willing to pay for them in balancing act of supply vs demand. Unlike traditional markets, bitcoin markets operate 24 hours per day, 365 days per year.

74: https://aggr.trade/1m1h

Securing your bitcoin

With Bitcoin you can **"Be your own bank"** and personally secure your bitcoin **OR** you can use third party companies aka **"Bitcoin banks"** which will hold your bitcoin for you.

• If you prefer to **"Be your own bank"** and have direct control over your coins without having to use a trusted third party, then you will need to create your own wallet and keep it secure. If you want easy and secure storage without having to learn best computer security practices, then a hardware wallet such as a BitBox02[75], Trezor[76], ColdCard[77], or Blockstream Jade[78] is recommended. You can even build your own open source hardware wallets called a SeedSigner[79] or Krux[80].

75: https://bitbox.swiss/bitbox02/

76: https://www.trezor.io/

77: https://coldcardwallet.com/

78: https://blockstream.com/jade/

79: https://seedsigner.com/

80: https://selfcustody.github.io/krux/

• If you cannot afford a hardware wallet there are many software wallet[81] options to choose from depending on your use case. Mobile wallets like BlueWallet[82] are generally more secure than desktop wallets. Beware of fake mobile wallets and check reviews from reputable Bitcoin websites. Avoid paper wallets or brain wallets.

81: https://bitcoin.org/en/choose-your-wallet

82: https://bluewallet.io/

• If you prefer to work with third party **"Bitcoin banks"** to set up a collaborative custody arrangement, try Unchained Capital[83] but be aware that any third party you use exposes you to third party risk. There is a saying in the community, **"Not your keys, not your coins"**.

83: https://unchained-capital.com/

• *Note: For increased security, use Two Factor Authentication (2FA) everywhere it is offered, including email!**

2FA requires a second confirmation code or a physical security key to access your account making it much harder for thieves to gain access. Google Authenticator and Authy are the two most popular 2FA services, download links are below. Make sure you create backups of your 2FA codes.

• *Avoid using your cell number for 2FA.** Hackers have been using a technique called "SIM swapping" to impersonate users and steal bitcoin off exchanges.

┌─────────────┬─────────────┬──────────┐
│ Google Auth │    Authy    │ OTP Auth │
╞═════════════╪═════════════╪══════════╡
│ Android[84] │ Android[85] │ N/A      │
└─────────────┴─────────────┴──────────┘

Physical security keys (FIDO U2F) offer stronger security than Google Auth / Authy and other TOTP-based apps, because the secret code never leaves the device and it uses bi-directional authentication so it prevents phishing. If you lose the device though, you could lose access to your account, so always use 2 or more security keys with a given account so you have backups. See Yubikey[89] or Titan[90] to purchase security keys.

84: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.google.android.apps.authenticator2

85: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.authy.authy&hl=en

86: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/google-authenticator/id388497605?mt=8

87: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/authy/id494168017

88: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/otp-auth/id659877384

89: https://yubikey.com/

90: https://cloud.google.com/titan-security-key

Running Bitcoin

You can run Bitcoin node[91] software by downloading and installing Bitcoin Core[92] or other node software you have vetted.

91: https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/questions/18736/what-is-a-bitcoin-node

92: https://bitcoincore.org

It is a best practice to verify these Bitcoin node programs you download by checking their hashes and signatures[93].

93: https://youtu.be/U0I-ImS_r8o?si=qa_gRyGPuRZq5acM

Don't Trust, Verify.

• https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/releases[94]
• https://bitcoincore.org[95]
• https://bitcoin.org/en/bitcoin-core/[96]

A verified Bitcoin node running on your own hardware is your sovereign gateway to the Bitcoin network. They can be used alongside open source software wallets[97] to send and receive Bitcoin securely. By running your own Bitcoin node, you enforce the Bitcoin ruleset, can verify transactions without trusted 3rd party middlemen, improve your Bitcoin privacy, obtain independence with local access to blockchain data, and help bolster the robustness of the Bitcoin network. By running a Bitcoin node, you are verifying that Bitcoin is Bitcoin for yourself. For more details on running a Bitcoin node see this article[98].

94: https://github.com/bitcoin/bitcoin/releases

95: https://bitcoincore.org

96: https://bitcoin.org/en/bitcoin-core/

97: https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Wallet

98: https://unchained.com/blog/why-run-bitcoin-node/

For wallets used alongside your Bitcoin node: If your Bitcoin wallet software is fully open source[99] and Bitcoin-only, then it is probably a decent wallet. Some popular examples include sparrow wallet[100] and electrum wallet[101], both of which you can connect to your own locally run Bitcoin node, and use with most Bitcoin Hardware Wallets.

99: https://bitcoin.stackexchange.com/questions/80111/is-bitcoin-completely-open-source/80115#80115

100: https://sparrowwallet.com/

101: https://electrum.org/

Watch out for scams

As mentioned above, Bitcoin is decentralized, which by definition means there is no official website or Twitter handle or spokesperson or CEO. However, all money attracts thieves. This combination unfortunately results in scammers running official sounding names or pretending to be an authority on YouTube or social media. Many scammers throughout the years have claimed to be the inventor of Bitcoin. Websites like bitcoin(dot)com and the r / btc subreddit are active scams. Almost all altcoins are marketed heavily with big promises but are really just designed to separate you from your bitcoin. So be careful: any resource, including all linked in this document, may in the future turn evil. As they say in our community, **"Don't trust, verify"**.

• Avoid using ad-based search engines like Google or Yahoo: ads are shown based on how much the advertiser bids, and scammers can easily outbid legitimate providers for ad space, since immoral ways of earning money are far more lucrative than moral ways. Use DuckDuckGo[102] instead, which has no ads, and never tracks you as well.
• Ignore private messages offering services.
• **Never enter your seed words in a website of any kind.** Hardware wallets will recover by displaying possible seed words on their own interface, never on a website.
• **Always check addresses on your hardware wallet before sending or receiving.** Some malware has been known to replace addresses in your web browser or that you copy-and-paste.
• Avoid clicking on links like that look like links, such as https://www.google.com/[103][104], without first hovering over it and actually checking where they go to. Just because a link is labelled with an HTTPS address does not mean it actually sends you to that address. It is trivial for someone to comment a link on Reddit that looks like it will send you to one website when it actually sends you to another, and you might not notice the difference until a scammer has gotten all your money, or you have downloaded and installed software that steals your money.

Common Bitcoin Myths

Often the same concerns arise about Bitcoin from newcomers. Questions such as:

102: https://duckduckgo.com/

103: https://www.google.com/

104: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ybW48rKBME

• Will quantum computers break Bitcoin?
• Will governments ban Bitcoin?
• Is Bitcoin a Ponzi scheme?

All of these questions have been answered many times by a variety of people. Here are some resources where you can see if your concern has been answered:

• Common Bitcoin Myths[105]
• Gradually, Then Suddenly[106]
• Every Reason Bitcoin Will Not Fail[107]
• The Best Articles Debunking Bitcoin FUD[108]
• Why Bitcoin is Not a Ponzi Scheme: Point by Point[109]

Where can I spend bitcoin?

Check out Spendabit[110], Bitcoin Directory[111], or Coinmap[112] for a plethora of merchant options. You can also spend bitcoin anywhere Visa is accepted with bitcoin debit cards such as the CashApp card[113], Fold card[114] or other bitcoin debit cards. Some other useful site are listed below.

105: https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Myths

106: https://nakamotoinstitute.org/mempool/series/gradually-then-suddenly/

107: https://safehodl.github.io/failure/

108: https://endthefud.org/

109: https://www.swanbitcoin.com/why-bitcoin-is-not-a-ponzi-scheme-point-by-point/

110: https://spendabit.co/

111: http://bitcoin.directory/shop

112: http://coinmap.org/

113: https://cash.app/help/us/en-us/3080-cash-card-get-started

114: https://foldapp.com/

┌───────────────────────────────────────┬──────────────────────────────────────┐
│                 Store                 │               Product                │
╞═══════════════════════════════════════╪══════════════════════════════════════╡
│                                       │ Gift cards for thousands of          │
│                                       │ retailers worldwide including        │
│ Bitrefill[115], Gyft[116], and Fold   │ Amazon, Target, Walmart, Starbucks,  │
│ App[117]                              │ Whole Foods, CVS, Lowes, Home Depot, │
│                                       │ iTunes, Best Buy, Sears, Kohls,      │
│                                       │ eBay, GameStop, etc.                 │
├───────────────────────────────────────┼──────────────��───────────────────────┤
│ Spendabit[118], Overstock[119], and   │ Retail shopping with millions of     │
│ The Bitcoin Directory[120]            │ results                              │
├───────────────────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────────────────┤
│ NewEgg[121] and Dell[122]             │ For all your electronics needs       │
├───────────────────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Bitrefill[123], Bylls[124],           │                                      │
│ LivingRoomofSatoshi[125], Swapin[126] │ Bill payment                         │
│ and Coins.ph[127]                     │                                      │
├───────────────────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Menufy[128] and Takeaway[129]         │ Takeout delivered to your door       │
├───────────────────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Expedia[130], Cheapair[131],          │                                      │
│ Destinia[132], SkyTours[133], the     │ For when you need to get away        │
│ Travel[134] category on Gyft and      │                                      │
│ 9flats[135]                           │                                      │
├─────────────���─────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Cryptostorm[136], Mullvad[137], and   │ VPN services                         │
│ PIA[138]                              │                                      │
├───────────────────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Namecheap[139], Porkbun[140]          │ Domain name registration             │
├───────────────────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Stampnik[141]                         │ Discounted USPS Priority, Express,   │
│                                       │ First-Class mail postage             │
└───────────────────────────────────────┴──────────────────────────────────────┘

There are also lots of charities[142] which accept bitcoin donations.

115: https://bitrefill.com

116: http://www.gyft.com/

117: https://foldapp.com/

118: https://spendabit.co/

119: http://www.overstock.com/

120: http://bitcoin.directory/

121: http://www.newegg.com/

122: http://www.dell.com/

123: https://www.bitrefill.com/buy/worldwide/bill/

124: https://bylls.com

125: https://www.livingroomofsatoshi.com

126: https://www.swapin.com/

127: https://coins.ph

128: https://www.menufy.com/

129: http://corporate.takeaway.com/

130: http://www.expedia.com/

131: http://www.cheapair.com/

132: http://destinia.us/

133: http://www.sky-tours.com/

134: https://www.gyft.com/buy-gift-cards/category/travel/

135: http://www.9flats.com/

136: https://cryptostorm.is

137: https://mullvad.net

138: https://www.privateinternetaccess.com/

139: https://www.namecheap.com/

140: https://porkbun.com/

141: https://stampnik.com

142: https://www.reddit.com/r/changetip/wiki/suggestions

Merchant Resources

There are several benefits to accepting bitcoin as a payment option if you are a merchant;

• 1-3% savings over credit cards or PayPal.
• No chargebacks (final settlement in 10 minutes as opposed to 3+ months).
• Accept business from a global customer base.
• Convert 100% of the sale to the currency of your choice for deposit to your account, or choose to keep a percentage of the sale in bitcoin if you wish to begin accumulating it.

If you are interested in accepting bitcoin as a payment method, there are several options available;

• BTCPay Server[143]
• Zaprite[144]
• Square cash[145]
• Stripe[146]
• Blockonomics[147] (direct to your wallet)
• CoinCorner Checkout[148]

Can I mine bitcoin?

Mining bitcoin can be a fun learning experience, but be aware that you will most likely operate at a loss. Newcomers are often advised to stay away from mining unless they are only interested in it as a hobby similar to folding at home[149]. If you want to learn more about mining you can read the mining FAQ[150]. Still have mining questions? The crew at /r/BitcoinMining would be happy to help you out.

143: https://btcpayserver.org/

144: https://zaprite.com/product

145: https://cash.me/

146: https://stripe.com/bitcoin

147: https://www.blockonomics.co/merchants#

148: https://www.coincorner.com/checkout

149: https://foldingathome.org/?lng=en

150: https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Faq#Mining

If you want to contribute to the Bitcoin network by hosting the blockchain and propagating transactions there are many great resources[151] you can use to run a full node[152]. You can view the global distribution of reachable Bitcoin nodes on this webpage.[153]

151: https://raspibolt.org/

152: https://river.com/learn/how-to-run-a-bitcoin-node/

153: https://bitnodes.io/nodes/live-map/

Earning bitcoin

Just like any other form of money, you can also earn bitcoin by being paid to do a job.

┌─────────────────────────────────────────┬────────────────────────────────────┐
│                  Site                   │            Description             │
╞═════════════════════════════════════════╪════════════════════════════════════╡
│ WorkingForBitcoins[154], Bitwage[155],  │                                    │
│ Coinality[156], Bitgigs[157],           │ Freelancing                        │
│ /r/Jobs4Bitcoins[158]                   │                                    │
├─────────────────────────────────────────┼────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Lolli[159]                              │ Earn bitcoin when you shop online! │
└─────────────────────────────────────────┴────────────────────────────────────┘

You can also earn bitcoin by participating as a market maker on JoinMarket[160] by allowing users to perform CoinJoin transactions with your bitcoin for a small fee (requires you to already have some bitcoin).

154: https://workingforbitcoins.com

155: https://www.bitwage.com/for-individuals/

156: https://coinality.com/

157: http://bitgigs.com/

158: http://www.reddit.com/r/Jobs4Bitcoins

159: https://www.lolli.com/

160: https://github.com/chris-belcher/joinmarket

Bitcoin-Related Projects

The following is a **short** list of ongoing projects that might be worth taking a look at if you are interested in current development in the Bitcoin space.

┌───────────────────────────────────────┬──────────────────────────────────────┐
│                Project                │             Description              │
╞═══════════════════════════════════════╪══════════════════════════════════════╡
│ Lightning Network[161]                │ Second layer scaling                 │
├───────────────────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Liquid[162] and Rootstock[163]        │ Sidechains                           │
├───────────────────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Hivemind[164]                         │ Prediction markets                   │
├──���────────────────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────────────────┤
│ DropZone[165] and Beaver[166]         │ Decentralized markets                │
├───────────────────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────────────────┤
│ JoinMarket[167], JAM app[168] and     │ CoinJoin implementation              │
│ Wasabi[169]                           │                                      │
├───────────────────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Peer-to-Peer Exchanges[170]           │ Peer-to-peer exchanges               │
├───────────────────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Keybase[171]                          │ Identity & Reputation management     │
├───────────────────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Abra[172]                             │ Global P2P money transmitter network │
├───────────────────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Bitcore[173]                          │ Open source Bitcoin javascript       ���
│                                       │ library                              │
├───────────────────────────────────────┼──────────────────────────────────────┤
│ Bitcoin Knots[174]                    │ A Bitcoin Node (Within Consensus     │
│                                       │ Fork of Bitcoin Core)                │
└───────────────────────────────────────┴──────────────────────────────────────┘

Bitcoin Units

One bitcoin is worth quite a lot (thousands of £/$/€), so people often deal in smaller units. The most common subunits are listed below:

161: https://lightning.engineering/index.html

162: https://blockstream.com/liquid/

163: https://www.rsk.co/

164: http://bitcoinhivemind.com

165: https://github.com/17Q4MX2hmktmpuUKHFuoRmS5MfB5XPbhod/dropzone

166: https://eprint.iacr.org/2016/464.pdf

167: https://github.com/chris-belcher/joinmarket

168: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FbyjG2upGO8

169: https://docs.wasabiwallet.io/

170: https://github.com/cointastical/P2P-Trading-Exchanges/

171: https://keybase.io/

172: https://www.goabra.com/

173: http://bitcore.io/

174: https://bitcoinknots.org/

┌─────────���────┬────────┬─────────────────────────┬────────────────────────────┐
│     Unit     │ Symbol │          Value          │            Info            │
╞══════════════╪════════╪═════════════════════════╪════════════════════════════╡
│ bitcoin      │  BTC   │ 1 bitcoin               │ one bitcoin is equal to    │
│              │        │                         │ 100 million satoshis       │
├──────────────┼────────┼─────────────────────────┼────────────────────────────┤
│ millibitcoin │  mBTC  │ 1,000 per bitcoin       │ used as default unit in    │
│              │        │                         │ Electrum wallet            │
├──────────────┼────────┼─────────────────────────┼────────────────────────────┤
│ bit          │  μBTC  │ 1,000,000 per bitcoin   │ colloquial "slang" term    │
│              │        │                         │ for microbitcoin           │
├──────────────┼────────┼─────────────────────────┼────────────────────────────┤
│ satoshi      │  sat   │ 100,000,000 per bitcoin │ smallest unit in bitcoin,  │
│              │        │                         │ named after the inventor   │
└──────────────���────────┴─────────────────────────┴────────────────────────────┘

For example, assuming an arbitrary exchange rate of $10,000 for one bitcoin, a $10 meal would equal:

• 0.001 BTC
• 1 mBTC
• 1,000 bits
• 100,000 sats

For more information check out the bitcoin units wiki[175].

175: https://www.reddit.com/r/BitcoinWiki/wiki/bitcoin_units

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

• *Still have questions?** Feel free to ask in the comments below or stick around for our weekly Mentor Monday[176] thread. If you decide to post a question in /r/Bitcoin, please use the search bar to see if it has been answered before, and remember to follow the community rules outlined on the sidebar to receive a better response. The mods are busy helping manage our community, so please do not message them unless you notice problems with the functionality of the subreddit.

176: https://www.reddit.com/r/Bitcoin/search/?q=title%3A%22mentor+monday%22&sort=new&restrict_sr=on&t=all

• *Note:** This is a community created FAQ. If you notice anything missing from the FAQ or that requires clarification, you can edit it here[177] and it will be included in the next revision pending approval.

177: https://www.reddit.com/r/BitcoinWiki/wiki/rbitcoin_sticky

• *Welcome to the Bitcoin community and the new decentralized economy!**

Please note that this thread will be moderated and non-constructive comments will be removed.

Comments

Comment by BitcoinFan7 at 03/09/2024 at 01:05 UTC

1 upvotes, 1 direct replies

Please feel free to make constructive edits[1] to the document, they will be implemented pending mod review. Also if you have any beginner questions regarding bitcoin feel free to post them in the comments below, several community members are happy to help answer them. Note that this thread will be moderated and non-constructive feedback will be removed. Thanks and welcome to Bitcoin!

1: https://www.reddit.com/r/BitcoinWiki/wiki/rbitcoin_sticky

Comment by WincWanderer at 01/11/2024 at 04:47 UTC

1 upvotes, 0 direct replies

Fantastic post. Bitcoin for dummies and not do dummies!

Comment by Zebra_Delicious at 08/01/2025 at 12:59 UTC

1 upvotes, 0 direct replies

Yeah, that's a pretty comprehensive FAQ. Start with the Bullish Case article and then dive into "The Bitcoin Standard" – it's a game changer.