Bitcoin

noun

Bit·​coin ˈbit-ˌkȯin 

variants or less commonly bitcoin

: a digital currency created for use in peer-to-peer online transactions

Introduced in 2008 by a person or group using the name Satoshi Nakamoto, Bitcoin is the most prominent of a group of virtual currencies—money that exists mainly as computer code—that have no central issuing authority.

—Carter Dougherty

… Bitcoin … is backed by no government and has a fluctuating value linked in part to a scarcity that is mathematically predetermined.

—Glenn Zorpette

The venture capital industry is beginning to take a good, hard look at a new financial instrument coming out of the bitcoin community—Initial Coin Offerings, or ICOs.

—Richard Kastelein

also, usually bitcoin : a unit of this currency

Commercial space venture Virgin Galactic—which announced on Nov. 22 that it would start accepting bitcoins to reserve a refundable $250,000 seat on a future trip—is just the latest of many businesses that have recently embraced the decentralized virtual payment system. (At press time, 1 bitcoin was worth roughly $879.)

—Time

Examples of Bitcoin in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The family received multiple ransom notes demanding millions of dollars worth of Bitcoin in exchange for Nancy’s safe return. — Lizzie Lanuza, StyleCaster, 30 Apr. 2026

In February, David Bailey, the CEO of a Bitcoin company, agreed to buy his own media and investment firms. — Ben Weiss, Fortune, 30 Apr. 2026

The identity of Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of Bitcoin, remains one of the blockchain’s great mysteries. — Katie Drummond, Wired News, 28 Apr. 2026

Butch Haze, a luxury real estate specialist with Compass, said this AI boom reminds him of the Bitcoin craze. — CBS News, 27 Apr. 2026

Word History

Etymology

bit entry 4 + coin entry 1

First Known Use

2008, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for Bitcoin

• adjoin
• benzoin
• conjoin
• enjoin
• rejoin
• sirloin
• subjoin
• coin
• coyne
• groin
• join
• koine