New to Bitcoin? This glossary is designed as a reference to come back to throughout this Knowledge Base - a quick, plain-English definition for every term you're likely to run into, grouped by topic rather than buried in a single alphabetical list. Where a term has its own dedicated article, we've linked straight to it.
You've probably heard the word "Bitcoin" thrown around - in the news, on social media, maybe from a friend who won't stop talking about it. But if nobody's actually sat you down and explained what it is, you're not alone. Millions of people have heard of Bitcoin without really understanding it. This guide breaks Bitcoin down in plain English - no jargon, no hype, just the basics you need to understand why it exists, how it works, and why so many serious investors are starting to take it seriously.
Explains what a Bitcoin treasury company actually is, why public companies choose to hold Bitcoin on their balance sheet, and how they go about building that treasury. Makes clear that buying shares in such a company is not the same as buying Bitcoin directly.
Introduces Smarter Web, trading as The Smarter Web Company plc under ticker SWC, the UK's largest listed Bitcoin treasury company. Covers its origins as a web business, its current Bitcoin holdings, and what its stock and share basics mean for a prospective investor.
Clarifies the difference between Bitcoin and the broader cryptocurrency market, explaining why Bitcoin's fixed supply, lack of central control and long track record set it apart from the thousands of other tokens often grouped under the same label.
Addresses six of the most common Bitcoin myths, covering criminal use, its lack of physical backing, environmental impact, technical complexity, timing, and regulation, replacing each with a balanced, evidence based explanation.
Goes back to first principles to explain why Bitcoin was created, covering the 2008 financial crisis backdrop and the specific problems it was designed to solve: the double spend problem, trust in institutions, inflation, and access to money.
Breaks down the three distinct ways people invest in Bitcoin, direct ownership, Bitcoin ETFs, and shares in a Bitcoin treasury company, and explains why only the first two actually track Bitcoin's price while the third is a different kind of investment altogether.
Sets out the investment case for Bitcoin built on scarcity, a lengthening track record, growing institutional adoption, and potential diversification benefits, while giving equal weight to the volatility and risk that come with it.
Explains the idea of Bitcoin's ongoing monetization, its gradual shift from a niche asset to a widely recognised store of value, and why that process matters to anyone holding Bitcoin directly or through a company's balance sheet.
Explores why Bitcoin is often nicknamed digital gold, using the classic properties of sound money, scarcity, durability, portability, divisibility and verifiability, to show where the comparison holds up and where it does not.
A side by side comparison of gold and Bitcoin across scarcity, durability, portability, divisibility, verifiability, track record and volatility, concluding that the two are better understood as complements than as direct substitutes.
Explains why Bitcoin's price moves so much more than traditional assets, covering market size, round the clock trading, its unresponsive supply, and sensitivity to sentiment, along with practical advice on managing the emotional side of volatility.
Covers the basics of how people actually hold Bitcoin day to day, the difference between exchanges, software wallets and hardware wallets, what a seed phrase is, and why self custody is a trade off between control and responsibility.
A foundational explainer on public markets aimed at readers with no prior investing background, covering what it means for a company to be listed, what a share and a ticker actually are, and why that matters for evaluating a company like Smarter Web.
Confirms that the UK does have a Bitcoin treasury company, Smarter Web, and places it in context against the US originated model, explaining what makes a London listed, GBP denominated option distinct for UK based investors.
A practical walkthrough of how buying and selling shares actually works in the UK, covering accounts, identity checks, order types, settlement and the costs involved, illustrated throughout using Smarter Web as a worked example.
Explains what inflation is, what causes it, and how it erodes the value of cash savings over time, then examines the genuinely debated question of whether Bitcoin's fixed supply makes it a reliable hedge against it.
Looks at the specific mechanics Bitcoin treasury companies use to try to build shareholder value, including growing Bitcoin per share, the different capital raising tools available, and the role a genuine operating business can play.
Compares Bitcoin treasury companies directly against Bitcoin ETFs, covering what each actually is, the current restrictions on UK retail access to Bitcoin ETFs, and the different risk and upside profile each option carries.
Defines what it means for a Bitcoin strategy to be accretive rather than dilutive, using a simple worked example to show why growing total Bitcoin holdings does not automatically benefit existing shareholders.
Tells the story of Strategy, formerly MicroStrategy, the company that pioneered the Bitcoin treasury model, and explains how that approach has since spread internationally, including to UK companies like Smarter Web.
Defines Bitcoin per share, the metric that matters more than total Bitcoin holdings, and shows with a worked example how it can grow through accretive capital raises, reinvested cash flow, or share buybacks.
Explains the concept of amplified or leveraged Bitcoin exposure, showing with a simplified example how debt or preferred shares can magnify both gains and losses in a treasury company's share price relative to Bitcoin itself.
A full side by side comparison of owning Bitcoin directly versus owning shares in a company that holds it, covering custody, price behaviour, tax treatment and which option might suit different types of investor.
Explains what a preferred share is and how it differs from an ordinary share in terms of dividends, voting rights and priority, and why a growing number of Bitcoin treasury companies are issuing their own preferred instruments.
Clarifies the important difference between traditional cash paying yield and the metric some Bitcoin treasury companies call Bitcoin Yield, which measures growth in Bitcoin per share rather than any payment to shareholders.
Explains what Net Asset Value means for a Bitcoin treasury company, how it is calculated, and why shares trading at a premium or discount to NAV matters for understanding whether a capital raise will help or hurt existing shareholders.
A practical step by step guide to buying shares in The Smarter Web Company plc, covering choosing a platform, account types, finding the stock, placing an order, and where to find official up to date company information.
We've spent this Tier deep in the mechanics of Bitcoin treasury companies. It's worth zooming back out for a moment and asking a broader question: why has interest in Bitcoin among UK investors specifically grown so much over recent years?
We've looked at why interest in Bitcoin has grown. A more practical question follows naturally: where, if anywhere, might it actually fit within a wider investment portfolio? This is genuinely one of the more nuanced questions in this whole series, so it's worth taking slowly.
Earlier in this series, we looked at how individuals store Bitcoin - wallets, keys, and the basics of self-custody. A company holding potentially significant sums needs to go considerably further than any individual typically would. This article closes out this Tier by looking at what that actually involves.
We've referenced “the blockchain” throughout this series without properly explaining it. Now that you've built up a solid foundation, it's time to open the hood and look at what's actually happening when Bitcoin moves from one person to another.
In our last article, we looked at how Bitcoin actually works and flagged mining as a topic deserving proper treatment of its own. It's arguably the single most misunderstood part of how Bitcoin actually works, so let's open it up properly.
In our last article, we looked at Bitcoin mining, covering how miners are rewarded with newly created Bitcoin for each block they successfully mine. That reward doesn't stay fixed forever - it's cut in half at regular intervals, in an event known as “the halving.”
We've described Bitcoin as having “no central authority” throughout this series. It's worth explaining exactly what that means in practice - because “nobody's in charge” doesn't mean nobody has any influence at all.
Earlier in this series, we covered the basics of storing Bitcoin at a conceptual level. Now that we've been through how Bitcoin actually works under the hood, it's worth revisiting wallets properly - what they actually are, technically, and what self-custody really asks of you.
