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See all results and the chart →What it really is, how it works under the hood and how to get started safely: everything you need to understand the first cryptocurrency in history, without the jargon.
Average transaction time: ~10 minutes · Fees often under one euro · Network running since 2009 without a single outage
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01 · Privacy
In the context of cybersecurity, privacy is an individual's right and ability to control their personal data, deciding who can collect, use and share it in the digital space.
In 1991 programmer Phil Zimmermann released PGP (Pretty Good Privacy): a free program that put public-key cryptography, until then reserved for governments and armies, into anyone's hands. The mechanism is simple: your chiave pubblica is used to encrypt a message, your chiave privata — which stays only on your computer — is the only one that can unlock it.
PGP doesn't ask permission from any central authority: trust is built between people, a rete di fiducia in which everyone vouches for those they know. Each key has a impronta, a string of characters to be checked over a channel considered trustworthy. The US government took it so seriously it considered spreading PGP an illegal export of munitions: Zimmermann was investigated for three years before the case was dropped. The free version we use today is called GnuPG.
PGP protects the content, Tor protects the connection: together they are the foundation of online privacy.
02 · Getting started
Read this guide, watch documentaries and compare sources. The smartest first investment is knowledge.
Prefer DEXs, account-free exchange services and hardware wallets: your keys always stay yours. You'll find a selection at the bottom of the page.
Without intermediaries, you are the custodian: save your recovery phrase offline, never as a photo on your phone, and share it with no one.
Your first purchase can be as little as 20-30 euros. Turn on two-factor verification (2FA) and, for larger amounts, consider a hardware wallet.
03 · Where to sign up
A selection of DEXs, non-custodial exchange services, hardware wallets and gift cards to get started. The links below are affiliate links: if you sign up through them, you support the site — the price doesn't change for you and on some platforms you'll get an extra bonus.
The first hardware wallet in history: your keys stay offline, never on a computer connected to the internet.
✦ The keys are yours alone: no intermediary can block you
Sign up on TrezorFrench hardware wallet with a dedicated app: keep bitcoin and other crypto safe from hackers.
✦ Free shipping on some models
Sign up on LedgerPay with bitcoin and other crypto and get gift cards, phone top-ups and cards for over 2,000 brands: spend your bitcoin without going through a credit card.
✦ Gift cards and top-ups paid directly in bitcoin
Sign up on BitrefillThe largest decentralized exchange on Ethereum: swap crypto directly from your wallet, with no registration.
✦ Non-custodial: your keys never leave your wallet
Sign up on UniswapWallet with a built-in DEX: swap bitcoin and other crypto across different chains while always keeping control of your keys.
✦ Cross-chain swaps with no account and no KYC
Sign up on THORWalletRegistration-free exchange service: converts one crypto directly into another (including ZEC and XMR) and sends it to your wallet.
✦ No account: receive directly in your own wallet
Sign up on SimpleSwapBitcoin's historic forum: read community discussions and the original post about the two-pizza payment.
✦ A free resource to dig deeper into Bitcoin's history
Sign up on BitcointalkNote: some links in this section are affiliate links and we may receive a commission from the listed platforms. This doesn't affect our assessments. Cryptocurrencies are volatile and risky instruments: invest with caution.
04 · Frequently asked questions
Not quite: it is "pseudonymous". Transactions are public but are linked to addresses, not names. If an exchange links your name to an address, that link exists.
Yes. If you lose your private key (or the 12-24 word recovery phrase) the funds are unrecoverable: it's estimated that millions of bitcoin are lost forever. That's why custody is essential.
The price is set by the market and has historically been very volatile: it can rise or fall by double-digit percentages in a few hours. Only invest money you can afford not to touch for a long time.
Yes, buying and selling cryptocurrencies is legal in most countries. Gains are subject to specific tax rules and operators must be registered. Check the crypto-asset and taxation rules in your country.