Bitcoin Basics Series — Part 1
Let’s Clear the Air…
“Isn’t Bitcoin just some kind of fake internet money?”
I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve heard that one. Maybe you’ve wondered the same thing.
It sounds sketchy, right?
Numbers on a screen, no coins in your pocket, no paper bills to fold into your wallet.
But here’s the deal: That picture is flat-out wrong.
Bitcoin isn’t play money, and it’s not some passing fad cooked up by a couple of tech bros in their dorm room.
It’s something the world has literally never seen before.
Why the Money You Use Every Day Is Broken
Before we talk about what Bitcoin is, we need to take a hard look at the money you already use.
Dollars, euros, pesos — every national currency in the world today is called “fiat money.” That’s a fancy way of saying, “it has value because the government says so.”
The problem?
Governments and central banks can print as much of it as they want.
More dollars in circulation = the dollars in your pocket buy less.
That’s inflation.
You’ve felt it at the grocery store, the gas pump, or sending your kid off to college.
Most people think of inflation as simply prices going up…
And while that’s not entirely wrong, it misses the deeper truth: The prices aren’t what’s changing — it’s the purchasing power of your money that’s being sucked away every time more dollars are created.
A deep dive on this is outside the scope of today’s article, but trust me, we’ll circle back to inflation in its own piece soon.
On top of that, banks can freeze your account, governments can seize funds, and the rules can change on a whim. It’s money you rent — not money you truly own.
Enter Bitcoin: Something Brand New
So what is Bitcoin, really?
Think of it as the first truly “hard money” humanity has ever had.
And by hard money, I don’t mean coins you can clink together in your pocket. I mean money that’s genuinely hard to create more of.
Gold used to serve this role — it takes real effort and cost to dig it out of the ground.
Paper money and digital dollars, on the other hand, are “soft” because they can be created with the stroke of a keyboard.
Hard money resists that kind of easy creation, which is exactly what makes it valuable and trustworthy.
Bitcoin takes this idea to the extreme:
- Scarce: Only 21 million will ever exist. Period. Nobody can “print” more.
- Secure: It’s protected by unbreakable cryptography and a global network of computers.
- Decentralized: No CEO, no government, no company controls it.
- Portable & Divisible: You don’t need to buy a whole Bitcoin. You can own fractions — down to 1/100,000,000th (a satoshi, or “sat”).
- Peer-to-Peer: Like sending an email, you can send money directly, no bank needed.
That’s why calling Bitcoin “internet money” sells it short. It’s not just new money for a digital age. It’s money in its purest form — incorruptible, uncensorable, and un-inflatable.
The closest thing the world ever had to this was gold. And even gold has flaws: hard to divide, expensive to transport, easy for governments to confiscate.
Bitcoin takes the strengths of gold and adds superpowers gold could never dream of.
But Isn’t Bitcoin Just a Bubble?
You’ve heard the other lines too:
- “It’s a Ponzi scheme.”
- “It has no intrinsic value.”
- “Warren Buffett said he wouldn’t buy it for $25.”
Let’s be real: Bubbles don’t keep coming back stronger after 15 years.
Ponzi schemes collapse when new money stops flowing in.
Bitcoin has survived booms and busts and still stands as the best-performing asset of the past decade.
And about that “intrinsic value”?
Bitcoin’s value comes from the rules it runs on — rules nobody can bend. Its scarcity, security, and global usability are its backbone, not some promise from a politician.
Why Bitcoin Matters to You
Here’s the simple version:
- Protect Your Savings: Inflation eats away at dollars. Bitcoin’s fixed supply makes it resistant to that decay.
- Send Money Freely: Across the street or across the globe, you can transfer value almost instantly — like sending an email.
- Own It Yourself: Nobody can freeze it, seize it, or change its supply.
You don’t have to understand every technical detail today. You don’t need to be a coder or a financial expert.
You just need to grasp this: For the first time in history, you can own money that can’t be inflated, censored, or debased.
And just so you know where I’m coming from — part of why I’m writing this series is selfish. I want something I can hand my kids when they’re ready to learn about Bitcoin.
They’re not there yet, but I know the day is coming. And when it does, I want to have already laid out a simple, step-by-step guide.
If it’s useful for you too? Even better. I’m happy to let others come along for the ride.
The Takeaway
Bitcoin isn’t “internet play money.” It’s the first truly hard money the world has ever known.
Gold was a great run — but Bitcoin is a once-in-history innovation that fixes the flaws money has always had.
Want to really get it?
Don’t just read about it. Buy a few dollars’ worth. Experience sending some to yourself.
See how it feels to hold money that no one else can touch.
That’s when the light bulb flips on.
What’s Ahead in This Series
This is just the first step…
In this Bitcoin Basics series, I’m going to concisely tackle some of the big questions beginners wrestle with, including:
- Why scarcity (21 million and done) makes Bitcoin different.
- Why Bitcoin isn’t just another “crypto.”
- How to safely own and hold Bitcoin without losing sleep.
- What “HODLing” really means, and why time horizon matters more than timing.
- The bigger vision: How Bitcoin could reshape money itself.
So stick around. We’ve got ground to cover.
👉 Next up: “21 Million and Done: Why Scarcity Makes Bitcoin Different.”