Technology
How to Check a Bitcoin Transaction: Reading a Block Explorer
Paste the transaction ID into a block explorer and read the status, confirmations, outputs and fee rate. A step-by-step guide to checking a bitcoin payment.
EducationResearchIndependent perspective
Understand Bitcoin.
Beyond the price.
We help you understand Bitcoin, from the fundamentals of money and technology to custody, markets and the ideas shaping the ecosystem. No hype. No noise. Just clear, in-depth education and independent research.
Learning path
Start Here
New to Bitcoin? Begin with these essential guides to build your foundation and move forward with confidence.
- 01
What is Bitcoin?
A simple, clear introduction to Bitcoin, its origins and why it matters.
Read the guide - 02
Why does Bitcoin have value?
Explore the principles of scarcity, trust and network effects.
Read the guide - 03
How does Bitcoin work?
Learn about the technology, blockchain and how transactions are secured.
Read the guide - 04
How do I own and secure Bitcoin?
Practical steps to buy, store and protect your Bitcoin.
Read the guide
Editorial & research
Latest Bitcoin Research
Investing
The Crypto Fear and Greed Index Explained: How It's Built and What It Can't Tell You
The Crypto Fear and Greed Index turns six inputs into one 0 to 100 score. See how it is built, how CNN's stock version differs and why it can't time a trade.
Bitcoin Basics
What Is Bitcoin Used For? Real-World Uses and Their Limits
What bitcoin is used for in practice: holding, trading, payments, cross-border transfers, Lightning, savings, collateral and funds, each with its main limit.
The Bitcoin library
The Bitcoin Library
Curated resources to help you learn, go deeper and think more clearly about Bitcoin.
Bitcoin, explained without the noise.
Clear ideas. In-depth analysis. A more grounded perspective on what really matters.
Deep dives
Deep Dives
Longer reads for deeper understanding. In-depth analysis on the topics that matter most.
View all deep dives
Bitcoin Basics
The History of Bitcoin: From a Whitepaper to a Global Network
From the 2008 whitepaper and the genesis block to Mt. Gox, the block size debate, halvings and spot ETFs: the key milestones in Bitcoin's history.
Money & Economics
Bitcoin and Monetary Freedom
The case that Bitcoin expands financial freedom through censorship resistance and open access, and the trade-offs and criticisms that come with it.
Technology
Inside a Bitcoin Mining Operation
What Bitcoin miners actually do, how proof of work and ASICs function, why mining uses so much energy, and how halvings change the economics.
Just published
Latest articles
New guides and explainers, newest first.
View all articles- El Salvador and Bitcoin: What the Legal Tender Law Did and What ChangedMoney & Economics
- Form 1099-DA Explained: What Crypto Brokers Report to the IRS and to YouInvesting
- What Is Bitcoin Dominance? How It's Measured and What It Can't Tell YouInvesting
- What Is Bitcoin Mining? How It Works, Step by StepTechnology
- The US Strategic Bitcoin Reserve: What the Order Says and What It Doesn'tMoney & Economics
- Should I Buy Bitcoin? Questions to Ask Before You DecideInvesting