June 26, 2025

Kayden Tran

10th Grade

Fountain Valley High School 

In 2010, a man named Laszlo Hanyecz bought two pizzas for ten thousand Bitcoin. At the time, that was only worth about $40. Today, those pizzas would be worth over a billion dollars. This one story shows how far Bitcoin has progressed in just the last fifteen years. But what even is Bitcoin? How does it actually work? In this article, we’ll dive into what Bitcoin is and break down the technology that powers it. 

Bitcoin is a form of digital currency, also known as cryptocurrency, that allows people to send money digitally without having to go through a bank as an intermediary. It’s decentralized, meaning no single person or organization controls it. Bitcoin transactions are recorded and verified by thousands of computers around the world instead of one central authority like a bank. This makes it both secure and public, meaning anyone can see transactions, but no one can change them once they’ve been made. Unlike physical money, Bitcoin is entirely digital. It only exists as records on a public ledger called the blockchain. Each Bitcoin is divisible, so you don’t have to own a whole one. You can own a fraction, like 0.001 BTC, and still use it. Many people use Bitcoin as an investment, like gold or stocks, hoping its value will go up. Others use it to buy things online or send money across borders without a high fee. 

Bitcoin was created in 2008 by an unknown person or group behind the name Satoshi Nakamoto. In January 2009, Nakamoto published a short paper describing how Bitcoin would work and released the first version of the software. This marked the start of a new type of currency that didn’t rely on banks or governments. At first, Bitcoin was only used by a small group of tech enthusiasts, and it had little to no value. The famous pizza purchase in 2010 marked the first time Bitcoin was used in a real-world transaction. That moment sparked Bitcoin’s path from a tech experiment to a globally recognized name. Over the years, Bitcoin’s value has grown rapidly. In 2017, Bitcoin’s value hit $15,000 per coin. In 2021, it soared past $50,000. And now, today in 2025, it is worth well over $100,000 per coin. Along with the growth came more public attention and controversy. Some countries welcomed it, some banned it. 

At the core of Bitcoin is something called the blockchain. You can think of it like a giant digital notebook that keeps track of every Bitcoin transaction. But instead of one company owning the notebook, it's shared across thousands of computers around the world. These computers are called nodes, each with a copy of the entire notebook stored in it. Whenever someone sends or receives Bitcoin, that transaction gets grouped with others into what's called a “block”. Once a block gets filled, it gets locked in and attached to a series of chains of all the previous blocks, which is where the name “blockchain” comes from. Since every block is chained together, and everyone has a copy, it’s nearly impossible to tamper with or change the records without getting caught. To keep everything running smoothly, Bitcoin uses a system called “mining”. Mining is when super-powerful computers solve complex math problems. The first one to solve it gets to add the next block to the chain and earns some Bitcoin as a reward. 

Bitcoin started as an idea to create and transfer money without banks or government interference, and today, it's a global phenomenon. It has changed the way people think about money, security,  and technology. As the world becomes more digital, Bitcoin could play an even bigger role in the future of finance. Whether it's used for investing, buying, or building new technology. Bitcoin will continue to shape the way we interact with money.