Bitcoin

Origins and operating principle

Bitcoin (BTC) is the first and by far the most significant cryptocurrency, launched on 3 January 2009 with the genesis block by the pseudonymous developer Satoshi Nakamoto. The system was outlined in the October 2008 whitepaper "Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System" — a direct response to the global financial crisis and the perceived erosion of trust in central-bank-controlled monetary systems.

Bitcoin runs on a public blockchain, a chained database in which all transactions are cryptographically linked and stored by decentralised nodes worldwide. The consensus mechanism is proof of work: miners compete with computing power to find a cryptographic hash that meets the conditions for a new block. The first to succeed validates the transactions and receives the block reward.

Supply cap and halving

The absolute supply is capped at 21 million coins — a scarcity hard-coded into the protocol that has earned Bitcoin the "digital gold" tag. The block reward halves every 210,000 blocks (about four years) — the so-called halving. After the fourth halving in April 2024 it stands at 3.125 BTC per block; after the next halving, expected in spring 2028, it will fall to 1.5625 BTC.

By mid-2026 more than 19.8 million BTC are already in circulation, so less than 6% of the total supply remains to be mined. The last bitcoin is expected to be created only around the year 2140.

EU regulatory framework

The MiCA Regulation (Markets in Crypto-Assets) has established a single EU legal framework since 30 December 2024. Bitcoin itself falls into a special category as a decentralised, non-issued crypto asset: there is no issuer that could be subject to MiCA duties, but crypto-service providers (CASPs such as CEX exchanges) and custodians are squarely in scope.

In Austria, Bitcoin and all other cryptocurrencies have been brought into the KESt regime by the crypto tax reform of 1 March 2022: realised capital gains and ongoing income (for example from staking) are taxed at 27.5% KESt. Domestic providers such as Bitpanda withhold and remit the tax automatically — on foreign platforms like Kraken or Binance, self-declaration in the Austrian tax return is required.

Market snapshot mid-2026

• Price (as of June 2026): around €78,000 per BTC (volatile)
• Market capitalisation: over €1.5 trillion — by far the largest of any cryptocurrency
• Daily trading volume: USD 30 billion to 60 billion across all spot exchanges
• Active wallet addresses: over 50 million

A decisive turning point was the approval of the first Bitcoin spot ETFs in the United States in January 2024 (BlackRock IBIT, Fidelity FBTC, ARK ARKB), which triggered institutional inflows of more than USD 50 billion in the first year. In Europe, Bitcoin ETPs (Exchange Traded Products) have been available for years — from issuers such as 21Shares or CoinShares, traded on the Vienna and Frankfurt exchanges.

What investors often ask

Is Bitcoin legal in Austria? Yes, fully. Purchase, custody and sale are permitted. Providers have been required to hold an FMA licence since MiCA entered into force.