Bitcoin (BTC) Exchange

Bitcoin: Decentralized Proof-of-Work Network

BTC is the native token of Bitcoin, a proof-of-work blockchain launched in January 2009 that functions as a decentralised peer-to-peer payment network and store-of-value asset. Miners compete to validate transactions by solving SHA-256 cryptographic puzzles, and the winning miner earns newly minted BTC plus transaction fees. Bitcoin operates without a central authority, foundation, or corporate issuer: protocol changes require broad consensus among node operators, miners, and developers, making unilateral alterations effectively impossible.
Swapzone is a non-custodial exchange aggregator — it compares live BTC rates from 18+ exchange partners and routes the swap to the partner you choose. Swapzone never holds your Bitcoin at any stage.

BTC Tokenomics

Bitcoin uses a fixed-supply deflationary model with a hard cap of 21 million coins, enforced by the protocol's consensus rules since launch. Approximately 20.09 million BTC are in circulation as of mid-2026.
Maximum supply — 21,000,000 BTC, hardcoded and unalterable without a network-wide hard fork.
Block reward — 3.125 BTC per block, reduced from 6.25 BTC at the fourth halving on 19 April 2024.
Halving schedule — every 210,000 blocks (approximately every four years); the next halving is expected in April 2028, reducing the block reward to 1.5625 BTC.
Annual inflation rate — approximately 0.82% as of 2026 (164,250 BTC created annually at the current reward), the lowest in Bitcoin's history.
Lost supply — an estimated 3 to 4 million BTC are considered permanently inaccessible due to lost private keys or abandoned wallets, reducing the effective tradeable float below the nominal circulating supply.

What Determines BTC's Value

Bitcoin's primary demand driver is its role as the dominant store-of-value asset in crypto, reinforced by a fixed supply schedule that no entity can alter. The approval of multiple spot Bitcoin ETFs by the US SEC in January 2024 opened BTC to institutional capital flows through regulated vehicles, adding a structural demand layer that did not exist in previous market cycles. Institutional accumulation signals such as spot ETF inflows, on-chain exchange outflows, and long-term holder behaviour are now trackable inputs for analysing BTC's market dynamics alongside traditional metrics like MVRV ratio and correlation with macro indicators including Fed policy and dollar strength (DXY).
Network security, measured by total hash rate, also influences BTC's value proposition. Bitcoin's hash rate exceeded 700 exahashes per second (EH/s) in 2026 according to Blockchain.com data, making the network the most computationally secured blockchain in existence. Higher hash rate increases the cost of attacking the network, reinforcing Bitcoin's credibility as a settlement layer and long-term store of value.