Bitcoin Foundations
Start with money, keys and payments. Build confidence through clear explanations, everyday examples and paper exercises.
21 lessons · About 4 hours including practice. No prior Bitcoin knowledge. No wallet or purchase required.
What you’ll take away
Explain a payment, spot common risks and read Bitcoin claims with confidence.
Your learning, at your pace
Read every lesson freely. Optional progress tracking needs JavaScript and browser storage; it does not require an account or wallet.
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Three chapters.
Twenty-one new perspectives.
Follow the path or jump to a question. No lesson is locked. Finish with a capstone you can explain to a friend.
Find your bearings
Money, keys and the journey of a payment.
Bitcoin without jargon
Start with sats, shared rules and the habit of checking evidence. No purchase or wallet needed.
8 MIN WITH PRACTICE · COMPLETEKeys, custody and keeping control
Understand who can authorize spending, what must stay private and why a backup matters.
9 MIN WITH PRACTICE · COMPLETEPayments for humans, including Lightning
Read an invoice, distinguish payment states and understand how an artist could receive bitcoin.
10 MIN WITH PRACTICE · COMPLETEMoney, prices and units
Separate an amount from its price and its purchasing power.
10 MIN WITH PRACTICE · COMPLETEFollow a payment from request to receipt
Understand why a payment has several stages.
10 MIN WITH PRACTICE · COMPLETEAddresses, networks and QR codes
Learn why a familiar-looking destination is not enough.
10 MIN WITH PRACTICE · COMPLETEConfirmations and patience
Understand a probabilistic process without promising an exact arrival time.
10 MIN WITH PRACTICE · COMPLETEBuild good habits
Fees, backups, privacy and the questions worth asking.
Fees buy scarce block space
Read a fee estimate without confusing it with a percentage of value.
10 MIN WITH PRACTICE · COMPLETEBackups before dependence
Plan recovery without exposing a real secret.
10 MIN WITH PRACTICE · COMPLETEScams, urgency and trusted routes
Recognize a bad request before the technology becomes a distraction.
10 MIN WITH PRACTICE · COMPLETEPrivacy is a practice
Understand why public records and personal stories should stay separate.
10 MIN WITH PRACTICE · COMPLETECustody is a relationship
Ask who can spend, recover, block or change access.
10 MIN WITH PRACTICE · COMPLETEReading a Lightning invoice
Understand amount, expiry and payment status.
10 MIN WITH PRACTICE · COMPLETEExchanges and access to bitcoin
Understand a service without treating its balance as the network.
10 MIN WITH PRACTICE · COMPLETEUse what you know
Creative work, community, networks and your first capstone.
Volatility and practical planning
Keep uncertainty visible when discussing future needs.
10 MIN WITH PRACTICE · COMPLETEA fair invoice for creative work
Build a payment relationship around the artist’s actual agreement.
10 MIN WITH PRACTICE · COMPLETEDonations with accountable purpose
Follow a contribution without exposing the people it serves.
10 MIN WITH PRACTICE · COMPLETEProof of work and honest energy questions
Separate a mechanism from claims about its impact.
10 MIN WITH PRACTICE · COMPLETEBitcoin and Litecoin: related ideas, separate networks
Compare without treating names or addresses as interchangeable.
10 MIN WITH PRACTICE · COMPLETERead Bitcoin news with a source trail
Separate an observation, an interpretation and a prediction.
10 MIN WITH PRACTICE · COMPLETECapstone: welcome a newcomer safely
Combine units, custody and verification in one useful explanation.
10 MIN WITH PRACTICE · COMPLETEAI-assisted material · Lesson sources checked October 1, 2026. Independent curriculum review is pending. All progress is self-reported practice, not a credential. No real funds, recovery words or transactions are needed.