Understand Bitcoin in 21 days. Hold your first sats safely.
A free, plain-English course for individuals, families, businesses and communities — online anywhere, or in person in Oakland, Atlanta, or your city.
From a headline to money you understand
Every lesson pulls from the same eight-domain library, so a ninth-grader, a shop owner and a city council member hear the same true story at the depth that fits them.
Origins
Why does this exist?D2The Protocol
How does it work?D3Custody & Security
How do I hold it safely?D4Payments & Lightning
How do I spend and accept it?D5Bitcoin as an Asset
How do I value and hold it?Circular Economies
Who lives on it today?D7Policy & Government
Why should city hall care?D8Building, Careers & Skills
How do I get paid?Learn it, do it, prove it
21-day plan
One short lesson and one real task a day. Three weeks: why Bitcoin exists, hands-on custody and Lightning, then the economy and your community.
Hands-on, safely
Set up a wallet on your own phone, back it up on paper, practice a restore and send your first sats — before real money is ever at stake.
Live network on screen
Every lesson connects to what Bitcoin is doing right now: price, blocks, fees, hashrate and the halving countdown.
A community near you
Tell us where you are and what you want to learn. We match you with learners nearby and invite you to local meetups.
Scam-proofing
Learn the fake-support, "currency reset" and get-rich pitches by name, so you can protect yourself and your family.
A certificate that verifies itself
Pass the final and claim a certificate whose fingerprint is timestamped on the Bitcoin blockchain — checkable by anyone, forever.
- All 21 lessons, tasks and quizzes
- Progress saved to your account
- Community and local circles
- Weekly newsletter (optional)
- Certificate with your name and a unique ID
- Fingerprint timestamped on the Bitcoin blockchain
- Public verification page you can share
- Free for residents in partner programs
Bitcoin, Well Covered — the newsletter
Bitcoin Core 32.0 finally ships on Oct 21 at 13:27 UTC — eleven days late, signed at commit 465dde2 with the tag message "Reproducibility Matters" — and its release notes retire BIP 9 bits 5–28 from soft-fork signalling under BIP 323, cutting Bitcoin's upgrade-voting surface from 29 channels to five on hardware-nonce grounds, with no consensus change and, at filing, no press coverage at all
Read the issue →Before you start
Do I need to buy bitcoin to take the course?
No. The course is free and you never have to buy anything. For the hands-on lessons we use a few "sats" (tiny fractions of a bitcoin) for practice — partner programs often provide these.
I'm a complete beginner. Is this for me?
Yes. Lessons are written in plain English for seniors, adults and youth. Each day is one short read and one small task you can do on your phone.
Is this investment advice?
No. We teach how money and Bitcoin work and how to stay safe. We never tell anyone what to buy, how much, or when. Education only — not financial, investment, legal, or tax advice.
Will you ever ask for my seed phrase or passwords?
Never. Nobody legitimate will ever ask for your seed phrase. Our forms even block anything that looks like one, to protect you.
Can you teach in person?
Yes. We're based in Oakland and Atlanta and travel to communities, schools, churches, businesses and city offices. Sessions can be in person, online, or a mix.
How does the certificate prove itself?
When you pass the final, we create your certificate and send its unique fingerprint (a SHA-256 hash) to OpenTimestamps, which anchors it in a Bitcoin block. Anyone can later check that your exact certificate existed on that date — without trusting us.
What does the $21 certificate cost cover?
The verified certificate and its blockchain timestamp. Learning is always free. Residents in partner programs (like neighborhood associations) can receive the certificate at no cost.
Own your keys. Know your money.
Start online today, or book an in-person session for your neighborhood, school, church, business or city.
Education only — not financial, investment, legal, or tax advice.