Heralded as the flagship cryptocurrency, Bitcoin disrupts traditional finance as a decentralized, borderless currency immune to government control or inflation. Its fixed supply of 21 million coins—capped by code—positions it as "digital gold," a hedge against fiat currency devaluation, especially as global debt rises and central banks print money. Adoption is growing: institutional investors like MicroStrategy and Tesla have bought in, and countries like El Salvador made it legal tender in 2021. With unmatched network security, the blockchain’s hash rate hit all-time highs in 2025, making it nearly impossible to attack. (The hash rate refers to the computational power used to process and secure transactions on a blockchain network. The higher the hash rate, the more computational effort is needed to alter the blockchain.) The greater the hash rate, the more resistant the network is to attack by malicious actors. Plus, transaction volume keeps climbing, signaling real-world use. Thus, Bitcoin possesses key attributes for use as money: scarcity, utility, and trust, which are not subject to government manipulation.
