| Bitcoin is a kind of money that lives on computers all over the world. The government prints regular money on paper, like dollars, and decides how much there is. But the government is not involved with Bitcoin at all—no printing. Lots of people help keep track of it together, and not the government! Right now, one Bitcoin is worth about $88,000 (Dec. 2025) How to get your own Bitcoin: You get a secret number from a phone app or computer program (only you know it—keep it safe!). This lets you create another number that people can send the Bitcoin to. It's like an online spot where people can put Bitcoin in for you. Anyone can put it in, but only you can take it out with your secret number! Giving or getting Bitcoin: If someone wants to give you Bitcoin, they tell everyone on the internet: "Hey, move some of my Bitcoin to my friend's number!" They prove it's really theirs by using their own secret number. Special helpers called miners: Miners are people with very expensive, super-fast computers who race to solve a really hard math puzzle. The puzzle gets solved about every 10 minutes. The winning miner gets to add the new Bitcoin transfers to a big shared record book that everyone can see. No one can cheat it! For winning, they get a prize of around 3 new Bitcoin, which is worth about $260,000 right now. Once it's written in the record book, the Bitcoin is safely yours. It's safe because no one can take it without your secret number, and the record makes sure everything is fair! |