**What is BTC?**

**BTC** is the abbreviation for **Bitcoin**, and it is also its official code/symbol (commonly written as ₿).

### In simple terms:
Bitcoin is the world's **first decentralized digital currency** (cryptocurrency), proposed by a mysterious person or group using the pseudonym **Satoshi Nakamoto** in 2008, and officially launched in January 2009.

Unlike traditional money (such as TWD, USD) issued and controlled by governments or banks, it operates through **blockchain** technology, a transparent, open system maintained collectively by thousands of computers worldwide.

### Key features of Bitcoin:
- **Decentralized**: No single bank, government, or company can control it.
- **Limited supply**: Only up to **21 million** BTC (about 20.1 million have been mined so far), which is why many call it "**digital gold**."
- **Peer-to-peer transactions**: You can send BTC directly to anyone without going through a bank, usually with lower fees.
- **High security**: Protected by cryptography; once recorded on the blockchain, transactions are almost impossible to alter.
- **Smallest unit**: 1 BTC = 100 million satoshis (sats).

### How does it work?
- **Mining**: Global "miners" use computers to verify transactions and bundle them into "blocks" added to the blockchain. Successful miners are rewarded with newly issued BTC.
- **Wallets and addresses**: You need a Bitcoin wallet (app or hardware device), which generates an address (like a bank account). Others can send BTC to this address.
- **Blockchain**: Like a public ledger, all transactions are recorded there. Anyone can check it, but it’s nearly impossible to tamper with.

### Current BTC price (real-time data as of April 2, 2026):
- **Approximately $66,900 to $68,000 USD** (slightly down about 1% in the past 24 hours).
- Market cap around **$1.34 trillion USD**, still the leader in the crypto market (number one by market cap).
- 24-hour trading volume about $37 to $38 billion USD.

Since 2009, Bitcoin has gone from nearly worthless to becoming a globally recognized investment asset. Many people see it as a **store of value** (similar to gold), and some use it for payments or transfers.