Block 00 · Welcome
Wealth isn’t built overnight.It’s built block by block.
Understand Bitcoin, buy wisely, hold it yourself – in the right order. No prior knowledge needed, calmly explained, with sources.
Free · no sign-up · Bitcoin is highly volatile · not investment advice
- 66articles · fact-checked · as of Sept 2026
- 124terms in the glossary
- 970,030Block height · As of 05/10/2026, 13:57 · mempool.space
- 0third-party trackers · no login
- Ads clearly labelled · How we make money →
Block 02 · Your path
Six stages. At your pace.
We guide you step by step from the first sentence to your own, safely held reserve. Your progress stays in your browser.
- Stage 01You are here doneoptional for your goal
Understand
You can explain Bitcoin in two sentences.≈21 min - Stage 02You are here doneoptional for your goal
Put in context
You know why Bitcoin can hold value – and what can go wrong.≈23 min - Stage 03You are here doneoptional for your goal
Plan
You know how much, how often and how long – before you buy.≈26 min - Stage 04You are here doneoptional for your goal
Buy
Your first sats sit with a licensed provider of your choice.≈24 min - Stage 05You are here doneoptional for your goal
Self-custody
Your bitcoin truly belong to you.≈26 min - Stage 06You are here doneoptional for your goal
Protect & stay the course
Protected, documented, inheritable – and the nerve for the long run.≈38 min
Block 03 · Wealth
Wealth is patience with a system.
Buying regularly, keeping costs low, holding it yourself – these are your best odds. There are no guarantees.
Wealth=time×consistency×low costs×safe custody
Time
In the short run, luck decides: since 2015, 28% of all one-year periods ended at a loss, down to −73%. Plan in years.
Returns & riskConsistency
A fixed amount every month, automatically. That way you don’t have to guess the right moment.
Savings plan or lump sum?Low costs
Fees and spread apply to every purchase. One percent less means one percent more bitcoin – every time.
Understanding feesSafe custody
What gets lost or stolen stops growing. Your keys, your bitcoin.
Understanding custody
$100 a month, for four years.
We ran every four-year period since 2015 – 93 in total. Here are the worst, the median and the best.
Worst period
12/2018 – 12/2022
$6,559
from $4,800 paid in
$20,000Largest drop along the way −69%
Median period
05/2021 – 05/2025
$13,606
from $4,800 paid in
$10,000Largest drop along the way −37%
Best period
06/2015 – 06/2019
$57,972
from $4,800 paid in
$60,000Largest drop along the way −74%
In the median period, $4,800 became about $13,600 – in the worst, about $6,600. This is how it went in the past – not a forecast. Since 2015 the price has at times fallen by 83%; you could also lose all of it.
Source: daily closing prices BTC/USD, mempool.space + Bitstamp, as of 4 October 2026 · all 93 periods with a first purchase from 01/2015 to 09/2022 · bought at month-end, 1% cost per purchase (typical savings plan), before tax · each chart has its own scale
The three periods as a table
| Period | Paid in | Value at the end | Largest portfolio drop | Largest price drop | Months below paid-in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Worst period 12/2018 – 12/2022 | $4,800 | $6,559 | −69% | −77% | 2 |
| Median period 05/2021 – 05/2025 | $4,800 | $13,606 | −37% | −77% | 21 |
| Best period 06/2015 – 06/2019 | $4,800 | $57,972 | −74% | −83% | 3 |
Block 04 · Your goal
Goal first. Then the path.
Bitcoin is not an end in itself. What do you want to achieve? Honest questions help more than any forecast.
Bitcoin for later?
Ask yourself honestly
- How many years are there between today and your retirement?
- Could you sit out a crash like 2021–2022 (−77%) without selling?
- What role does Bitcoin play next to your pension, ETFs and the like – a small addition or more?
What matters then
A long horizon, self-custody, an emergency and inheritance plan.
Preserve value over time?
Ask yourself honestly
- Do you have an emergency fund of three to six months’ expenses?
- How much can you put aside each month without going short?
- Would a fixed savings plan help you take price swings calmly?
What matters then
Regular, low-cost, automatic – and at some point, keep the coins yourself.
Opportunities – and the risk that comes with them?
Ask yourself honestly
- What loss could you bear in the worst case?
- Do you know the historical crashes and how long they lasted?
- Have you set rules before investing – instead of going with your gut?
What matters then
Honest numbers, clear rules, never invest more than you can afford to lose.
Independent of banks and middlemen?
Ask yourself honestly
- Do you want to hold your own keys – with all the duties that come with it?
- How much does privacy in payments matter to you?
- Would you also like to use Bitcoin, for example via Lightning?
What matters then
Your own wallet, a secure seed phrase, the basics of privacy.
Just want to understand it first?
Ask yourself honestly
- What exactly makes Bitcoin different from money in your bank account?
- Which criticism is justified – and which isn’t?
- What would need to happen for you to feel safe?
What matters then
Good. You don’t have to buy anything – read, try the tools, take your time.
Not advice – food for thought. The decision stays yours. A remembered goal stays in this browser only. It highlights matching deep dives in the learning path – never providers.
Block 05 · Lab & tools
Touch it. Then do the maths.
The best way to understand Bitcoin is to try it. Three small experiments and eight tools – all running in your browser.
Type something and watch the digital fingerprint change. Then let your browser “mine” a block.
Understanding miningSHA-256
…
- Nonce
- 0
- Attempts
- 0
- hashes/s
- –
Each square is 100,000 bitcoin, the colour shows the halving epoch. Filled squares have been issued up to the current block height.
Halving & 21 million20,093,846 BTC
95.68% issued · 906,154 BTC still to be mined
Now: 3.125 BTC per block. Next halving at block 1,050,000, ≈ April 2028 – 79,970 blocks to go.
As of 05/10/2026 · Block height 970,030
Price, block height, halving, fees – fetched live. The terminal is on every page: via “Terminal” in the footer, or with a keyboard by pressing `.
Calculate, don’t guess.
No sign-up, no personal data, no forecasts. Prices are live.
- DCA calculator What would a monthly amount have become? Real prices up to today, in US dollars – including every low along the way.historical
- Future scenarios Weak, middle, strong: how comparable periods went so far. Scenarios from real price history, with a crash test – not a forecast.scenarios
- Sats converter Convert between US dollars, BTC and sats at the current price – with a single input.live price
- Fee calculator What does buying bitcoin cost at each provider – once or as a savings plan? In dollars, based on the providers’ pricing pages, with date and source.comparison
- Holding period calculator From which day is each purchase tax-free in Germany? Deadline, FIFO and exemption check – tax amounts in euro, as the tax office calculates.tax DE
- Security check Honest questions about your account, wallet and habits – you only see the ones that apply to you. With a traffic light and next steps.check
- Goal compass Questions on goal, time horizon and risk – ending in a profile and matching deep dives on the learning path.reflection
- Knowledge quiz Questions across all topics – each with a short explanation and a link to read more.quiz
Block 06 · Freedom
Bitcoin is freedom.
And freedom starts with understanding.
On 3 January 2009, in the middle of the financial crisis, Satoshi Nakamoto wrote a headline from The Times into the very first block: a timestamp – and a comment.
Bitcoin needs no bank, no application, no permission. Holding your keys means holding your money – freedom and responsibility at once.
Block 07 · Where to buy?
Criteria first. Provider second.
You don’t have to buy anything. If you want to: licensed providers – the same for every reader.
What matters
- Licensed under MiCA. Registered as a crypto-asset service provider with ESMA. You can check it yourself.
- Real bitcoin. No certificate, no derivative. Only then can you hold it yourself later.
- Withdrawal to your wallet. Possible at any time – the step stage 5 is all about.
- Full costs. Fee and spread together. A zero trading fee alone says little.
In the comparison
Partners pay us a commission. That affects which providers we can link to – not how we rate them. How we rate →
Block 08 · Transparency
We never ask for your seed phrase, never call you and never hold your money.
How we are funded – openly.
- Ads are labelled. Paid links carry a * and sit in a block marked “Ad”. If you sign up through one, we earn a commission – your price stays the same.
- Everyone sees the same. No recommendations based on profile, quiz or learning progress. The order follows our methodology, never the commission. Providers without a partnership stay in the comparison.
- For buying, the licence comes first. We only place paid links to apps and exchanges with a MiCA licence. Unlicensed P2P marketplaces appear only as an alternative – without a paid link and clearly labelled.
Newsletter
One letter a month. No price alarm.
What has changed in tax and regulation, new articles and a security tip. Nothing more.