Like other cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin uses crypto wallets to store Bitcoin. Each wallet has private keys and public keys, with private keys allowing you to control your Bitcoin on the blockchain and send your Bitcoin to any public wallet address. Others can also send Bitcoin to your public wallet address, making Bitcoin function as a way to transfer value — like money, but without any middlemen like banks or payment services. What's bitcoin selling for today For many years, bitcoin advocates have argued bitcoin is a form of "digital gold" — a safe-haven asset that can provide investors a hedge against inflation and an investment in times of turmoil. But over the past few years, bitcoin has traded in correlation with stocks, in particular the tech-heavy Nasdaq.
On May 22, 2010, 10,000 BTC were exchanged for two pizzas in what is widely considered the first BTC purchase (at the time, one BTC was worth $0.004). Subsequently, others started accepting goods and services in exchange for Bitcoin which created a market big enough for robust price discovery — which is simply the free market method for determining an asset’s price. Since then, people have purchased everything from luxury goods to real estate using BTC. A timeline of Bitcoin prices As the standardized, regulated reference rate that underlies Bitcoin and Micro Bitcoin futures, CME CF Bitcoin Reference Rate provides more transparency to the Cryptocurrency market.