bitcoin
Americannoun
-
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.
-
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.
Haipo Yang, a former Tencent engineer who runs one of the world’s largest bitcoin mining pools, launched CoinEx from Hong Kong in 2017.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 25, 2026
The steep discount severely limits Strategy’s ability to issue new preferred shares to fund bitcoin purchases.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 25, 2026
One of them allegedly demanded millions in bitcoin, the second allegedly said she had died, while expressing regret on the part of the writer.
From BBC • Jun. 25, 2026
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
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
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.
