Bitcoin is a digital currency with a fixed supply of 21 million coins, run by a global network of computers instead of a bank. It was the first cryptocurrency, it's still the largest by market value, and every other crypto market gets measured against it. It's also one of the most traded markets on Hyperliquid, so you can trade it through Based at any hour of any day.
What is Bitcoin?
The name covers two things. Lowercase bitcoin, or BTC, is the coin: a digital asset with a hard cap of 21 million. Uppercase Bitcoin is the network the coins live on, a public database called a blockchain that thousands of independent computers around the world keep in sync. No bank or company runs it.
The cap is what people care about. Nobody, not a government, a company or Bitcoin's own developers, can issue more than 21 million BTC. New coins arrive on a fixed schedule that gets cut in half roughly every four years, an event called the halving, and more than 19 million already exist. That predictable scarcity is why supporters call bitcoin digital gold: something you hold to protect purchasing power rather than spend on coffee.
Where Bitcoin came from
On October 31, 2008, someone using the name Satoshi Nakamoto published a nine-page paper describing Bitcoin. Nobody knows who Satoshi is. The network went live on January 3, 2009, and its very first block carries a newspaper headline about bank bailouts. It works as a timestamp and a statement of intent: money that doesn't depend on banks staying solvent or governments staying disciplined.
For about a decade Bitcoin was a niche project run by hobbyists and cypherpunks. Then regulated wrappers arrived. US spot Bitcoin ETFs launched in January 2024 and pulled in tens of billions of dollars, public companies started holding BTC on their balance sheets, and bitcoin went from internet curiosity to a line item in institutional portfolios.
How new bitcoin gets made
Miners secure the network. They run specialized computers that compete to add the next batch of transactions, called a block, to the blockchain. Think of it as a lottery where every ticket costs electricity spent on a math puzzle. Whoever solves it first adds the block and collects newly issued bitcoin plus the transaction fees. The system is called proof of work.
A new block lands about every ten minutes. Every two weeks or so the puzzle gets harder or easier, so that pace holds no matter how many miners join or leave. Cheating doesn't pay: rewriting the record would mean outcomputing the rest of the network combined, which costs more than it could ever earn. That's how a database with no owner has run continuously for more than fifteen years.
What Bitcoin is used for
Mostly, people hold it. In 2026 the main use of BTC is as a long-term store of value, bought by individuals, funds and companies as a position against currencies losing value. Moving money across borders is a second, real use: bitcoin goes from any wallet on earth to any other, on any day, without a bank's sign-off.
There's a small app layer too, tokens and collectibles inscribed on Bitcoin after the SegWit and Taproot upgrades, but Bitcoin has deliberately stayed simple. It settles BTC between wallets, and that's about it. ETFs, custodians, exchanges and perp markets like the one on Hyperliquid handle everything else.
Where Bitcoin stands in September 2026
Bitcoin hit an all-time high above $125,000 in late 2025, then spent most of 2026 in a long correction. It has climbed back from around $70,000 in August and traded near $86,000 on September 23, 2026: far above most of its history, and still well below the peak.
Under the price, the institutional buildout kept going. US spot ETFs collectively hold over a million BTC, and Strategy, the largest corporate holder, held 846,000 coins as of September 20. August was the ETFs' strongest month for inflows since September 2025, and the buying carried into September. Policy went the other way. On September 15 the CLARITY Act, the major crypto market-structure bill, failed a procedural vote in the Senate 49 to 50, and a revival this year looks unlikely, so what happens next depends partly on the November 3 midterm elections. The same week, the Federal Reserve raised interest rates by a quarter point, a reminder that macro moves bitcoin as much as crypto news does.
How to trade Bitcoin on Based
You don't need an exchange account. Based is a self-custody wallet that connects you to the BTC perpetual futures market on Hyperliquid, one of the deepest markets in crypto. Fund the wallet with USDC and you can go long or short, with leverage if you want it, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
A perp is a derivative that tracks bitcoin's price. You don't own coins and there's no BTC to withdraw. Funding fees apply while a position is open, and leverage magnifies losses exactly as much as gains, so a leveraged position that moves far enough against you gets liquidated. For a first trade: read the perpetual futures guide, keep leverage low or skip it, and check the liquidation price before you confirm.
What can go wrong
Bitcoin is the calmest of the major crypto assets and it still moves 10 percent in a week fairly often. A 50 percent drawdown isn't a freak event. It has happened again and again, including in 2026. Self-custody cuts both ways too. No exchange can collapse with your funds, but you're your own security team: lose your recovery phrase and there's no password reset. The crypto wallet guide covers how to keep it safe.