bitcoin
Americannoun
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bitcoins
plural
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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.
See Examples For:
After rallying to highs of $82,000 earlier this month, bitcoin traded around $77,400 Friday, with other coins also treading water amid the lack of regulatory clarity and the Federal Reserve’s risk-sapping rate hike Wednesday.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
“Where this metric becomes useful, as an indicator, is when the cost to produce one bitcoin sits meaningfully higher than the market price for extended periods of time,” he said.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 17, 2026
If bitcoin drops below $75,000, it could fall further toward $69,000-$70,000, according to eToro’s Javier Molina.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
That’s the idea that investors will shift out of currencies and into precious metals or bitcoin as governments’ spending and debt keep rising.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 16, 2026
For a while this summer, bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies were in the doldrums, eclipsed by the shinier lights of surging artificial-intelligence stocks and prediction markets.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 14, 2026
A small sale by Strategy in May had that effect, even though it sold just 32 bitcoins for $2.5 million.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026
However, the company said Monday it had acquired 4,871 bitcoins for about $330 million in the five days ended April 5.
From Barron's ● Apr. 7, 2026
So far this quarter, since March 2, the company has spent $1.66 billion to buy 41,362 bitcoins.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 30, 2026
In fact, it was a remote desktop application that enabled Lam and his conspirators to transfer 4,000 bitcoins to themselves, Stratton said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 24, 2026
He adds that the down market is probably transitory, saying that Coinbase has been repurchasing shares and buying more bitcoins while prices are low.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 19, 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.
