What is Bitcoin? And Ethereum?

Bitcoin (BTC) is digital money that no bank or government runs. It started in 2009. Thousands of computers around the world keep one shared record of who owns which bitcoin, so nobody can spend the same coin twice.

• You can send it to anyone in the world, any time.
• You can own a tiny piece: $100 buys about 0.00129 BTC at $77,500.

Like anything, it is worth what people will pay for it. Two things push its price: there can only ever be 21 million bitcoin, and many people want some.

Nothing guarantees a price. If people stop wanting it, it falls, and it has fallen by more than half several times before.

Ethereum is a network that runs apps, not just payments: trading apps, games, digital art and more. Its coin, ether (ETH), pays the small fee each time someone uses one of those apps.

• News: new rules, big companies buying, or hacks at exchanges.
• Mood: when people feel excited they buy; when scared they sell.
• Big holders: one large sale can push the price down for a while.

Nobody can tell you which will do better, and this is not advice. A good way to learn is to try both with practice money and compare.

Practice: $500 of BTC and $500 of ETH.
Check both after a week: which moved more, and which way?