bitcoin
Americannoun
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Often Bitcoin the first widely established cryptocurrency, which uses state-of-the-art cryptography, can be issued in any fractional denomination, and has a decentralized distribution system.
Increasing numbers of stores and online businesses accept Bitcoin.
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a single unit of bitcoin, the first widely established cryptocurrency.
The value of a bitcoin has sometimes surpassed the value of an ounce of gold.
Usage
What's the difference between bitcoin, cryptocurrency, and digital currency? See digital currency ( def. ).
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of bitcoin
First recorded in 2005–10; bit 3 ( def. ) + coin
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In recent years, prices of gold, silver and bitcoin had climbed as a kind of protest vote against fiscal excesses and the idea that central banks had become more tolerant of inflation.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 24, 2026
Treasury yields fell, while the dollar strengthened, and gold and bitcoin dropped on rate worries.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 24, 2026
The first demanded millions in bitcoin for her release, but the second stated that she had died, according to sources cited by US media.
From BBC • Jun. 23, 2026
The first demanded millions in bitcoin for her release, but the second stated that she had died, according to sources cited by CBS, the BBC's US news partner.
From BBC • Jun. 23, 2026
Yes, Strategy has oodles of bitcoin, but selling could backfire.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 22, 2026
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
