# btc (0-btc.org)

Most people say "BTC" as shorthand for Bitcoin, the digital money they may have heard about on the news or from friends. It is a ticker symbol, like "AAPL" for Apple stock. Someone might say "I bought some BTC" meaning they bought some Bitcoin.

## What a model may hear
- Bitcoin cryptocurrency (finance, trading, blockchain): assume the user wants price data, wallet info, transaction help, or investment context
- Bitcoin Core (software) (software development, system administration): assume the user refers to the reference implementation of Bitcoin, its daemon, or its RPC commands
- BTC as a unit (one hundred million satoshis) (Bitcoin protocol documentation): treat amounts as on-chain units and may perform conversions or validate against blockchain data
- Back to code / behind the curtain (rare) (old internet slang, theater): almost never triggered; included only for completeness

## Where people and models part ways
- Says: "How do I get BTC?"
  Means: How do I buy Bitcoin as an investment?
  May be taken as: The model may explain running a mining node, compiling Bitcoin Core, or using testnet faucets
  Say instead: "How do I buy Bitcoin on an exchange?"
- Says: "Send me some BTC"
  Means: Tell me about Bitcoin or help me acquire it
  May be taken as: The model may generate a real wallet address, explain raw transaction construction, or warn about mainnet vs testnet
  Say instead: "Explain how Bitcoin transactions work in simple terms"
- Says: "What is BTC worth?"
  Means: What is the current price of Bitcoin?
  May be taken as: The model may discuss hashrate, difficulty adjustments, or node count rather than market price
  Say instead: "What is the current market price of Bitcoin in US dollars?"
- Says: "Run BTC for me"
  Means: Track Bitcoin or show me Bitcoin info
  May be taken as: The model may attempt to start a Bitcoin Core daemon, check for bitcoind, or discuss system requirements
  Say instead: "Show me a summary of recent Bitcoin news and price"

## Tips
- Say 'Bitcoin' instead of 'BTC' if you want general information, since the ticker triggers trading and technical contexts.
- Specify 'price' or 'market' when you want financial data, not mining or network data.
- Say 'Bitcoin the cryptocurrency' to avoid confusion with Bitcoin Core software.
- Use 'testnet' or 'mainnet' explicitly if you are experimenting and do not want real money involved.
- Ask for 'beginner explanation' if you want plain language, since 'BTC' alone may pull in technical documentation.

## Often confused with
- XBT: another Bitcoin ticker, more common in European exchanges
- BCH: Bitcoin Cash, a separate cryptocurrency from a 2017 split
- BSV: Bitcoin SV, another split coin with different rules
- ETH: Ethereum, a different cryptocurrency with smart contracts
- bitcoind: the actual software daemon, not the currency itself
- satoshi: the smallest Bitcoin unit, not the whole coin