where are bitcoins stored?

[Reatim]

Strictly speaking, bitcoins are not stored in the wallets of their owners. Bitcoins are stored in the blockchain.

i think the best way to explain is to say that it’s the keys we hold when we have wallets but people or rather beginners might panic if they know that the money is not actually in their wallets since many people are used to having their actual money in their own wallet but they need to know that digital currencies don’t mean they have tangible ownership of the coins it’s all stored in the blockchain

[SensitiveEyes]

Being new to BTC I would like to know where the BTC are held that are for sale? I am learning as I can understand a complicated subject the deeper I dig into BTC. My stepson is a BTC bull, and he says I need to spend 1000 hours to understand BTC? Other than private wallets, is there a pool of BTC, and how many are there of the 21000000 total available?

You are educated so why is your stepson saying you need 1000 hours to understand Bitcoin. If he cared for you he would teach the baby step basics because it is going to benefit your existence.

I am looking to buy more BTC ETF before I go deeper into buying the actual BTC wallet.

[Hazink]

You don't need that much time to understand BTC better.
Just keep pushing forward and look at the materials that are already provided to you, OP.

Maybe that could probably be his memory capability; he needs to study and learn for such lengthy hours put together in order for him to obtain and store the basic information he needs from and about Bitcoin.

We are talking about a whole 41 and a half days for someone to learn about Bitcoin, unless he wants to focus on the technical aspects; maybe he could need a lot more than that time to reach the level that he wants.

[seoincorporation]

Being new to BTC I would like to know where the BTC are held that are for sale? I am learning as I can understand a complicated subject the deeper I dig into BTC. My stepson is a BTC bull, and he says I need to spend 1000 hours to understand BTC? Other than private wallets, is there a pool of BTC, and how many are there of the 21000000 total available? I am looking to buy more BTC ETF before I go deeper into buying the actual BTC wallet.

As other users mentioned, the bitcoins are stored in the blockchain, but if you want to buy them then you can use the exchanges, there is where users sell their bitcoins, if you want to buy huge amounts then you must use big exchanges with a lot or bitcoin orders.

Right now bitcoin is in a complex situation, the fact that It lost close to 10% in the past 24h will bring chaos to the markets, I would wait the crash ends before buy.

[nakamura12]

The bitcoin is stored in a blockchain and the private key is what we use to access the bitcoin for signing, transaction and receiving bitcoin from other people. Some people do think that bitcoin is stored in a wallet when the truth is  it isn't stored in a wallet but in blockchain. Without the private key then we cannot interact with the blockchain which is why it is important not to lsoe the private key or the seed phrase.

[MusaMohamed]

The bitcoin is stored in a blockchain and the private key is what we use to access the bitcoin for signing, transaction and receiving bitcoin from other people. Some people do think that bitcoin is stored in a wallet when the truth is  it isn't stored in a wallet but in blockchain. Without the private key then we cannot interact with the blockchain which is why it is important not to lsoe the private key or the seed phrase.

This basic knowledge can be confusing for newbies, and starters in Bitcoin market but because it's only basic, they can easily learn it.

Bitcoin blockchain.
Keys and addresses.
Wallets.

More easily understandable educational explanations.
https://learnmeabitcoin.com/beginners/
Discover how Bitcoin works and why it’s so popular.

[Darker45]

For or sale or not, coins are kept in the blockchain. What we can have is access to those coins. However, if we're talking of centralized exchanges and other custodial services, Bitcoin ETF included and other Bitcoin-based financial products, what you will get are mere numbers. No actual Bitcoin is sent to you. You actually don't own any, unless you custody it yourself.

Don't take the 1,000 hours literally. That simply means it takes time to deeply understand Bitcoin.

Also, you don't have to buy Bitcoin wallets unless you prefer hardware devices. Otherwise, you can download reliable non-custodial and open-source software wallets for free. Just make sure you're downloading the legitimate version.

[Hatchy]

Bitcoin are held or stored in wallets from the Blockchain. The ones you have are in your wallet and the other people also have theirs in their wallets and blockchain is where transactions are recorded. Decentralized wallets can be used to sell  bitcoin directly to one another without third party involvement and centralized exchanges are also to buy and sell bitcoin.
Wallet is were bitcoin is stored. Though hardware wallet can be bought and not hot wallet.

Your coins aren't stored on your wallet, don't get it confused mate. Your wallet is just a medium for you to access your funds. They help you display the total amount of funds that's relating to your private keys. Coins, transactions are stored and recorded on the Blockchain chain.. that's where everything takes place and more reasons why your keys are most important, without them you cannot unlock your funds and have access to them.

[FortuneFollower]

The bitcoin is stored in a blockchain and the private key is what we use to access the bitcoin for signing, transaction and receiving bitcoin from other people. Some people do think that bitcoin is stored in a wallet when the truth is  it isn't stored in a wallet but in blockchain. Without the private key then we cannot interact with the blockchain which is why it is important not to lsoe the private key or the seed phrase.

That's why people say "Not your keys, not your coins", OP.

Totally right, nakamura12. I hope OP got his answer after all the resources provided to him and became a bit more knowledgeable on the matter.

[jcojci]

Spending 1000 hours will not give you a guarantee to understand Bitcoin especially if you are not in the right sources. If you can understand faster than other people, you don't have to spend 1000 hours but less on that. Bitcoin are held for sale is store in the exchanges so people can buy and sell it right away.

You can buy any Bitcoin wallet to store your Bitcoin and control it without any problem. But you must know how to protect your Bitcoin and not telling other that you have Bitcoin. You don't have to buy Bitcoin hardware wallet but download application or software so you can install in your devices such as phone cell, laptop, or CPU.

If you want to buy Bitcoin, you need to prepare some money and use DCA method. That help you to accumulate Bitcoin in a schedule and not worry about the price fluctuating.

[betswift]

Spending 1000 hours will not give you a guarantee to understand Bitcoin especially if you are not in the right sources. If you can understand faster than other people, you don't have to spend 1000 hours but less on that. Bitcoin are held for sale is store in the exchanges so people can buy and sell it right away.

You can buy any Bitcoin wallet to store your Bitcoin and control it without any problem. But you must know how to protect your Bitcoin and not telling other that you have Bitcoin. You don't have to buy Bitcoin hardware wallet but download application or software so you can install in your devices such as phone cell, laptop, or CPU.

If you want to buy Bitcoin, you need to prepare some money and use DCA method. That help you to accumulate Bitcoin in a schedule and not worry about the price fluctuating.

No nerves, no rush, only actions that are calculated to give a person good results in the end.

And with BTC - it's achievable, totally. And I agree with you, the amount of hours spent on understanding many concepts is nearly not as big as 1000 hours, but it's a personal matter of each person how much they are determined to get a hold of such concepts.

[bad23]

So they ARE stored on the crypto exchanges. Why did I have to read 25 responses to finally get an answer? Mabey I already know more about BTC than some of you. Thanks to my stepson who knows more about BTC than most of you all.

[Mushai]

So they ARE stored on the crypto exchanges. Why did I have to read 25 responses to finally get an answer? Mabey I already know more about BTC than some of you. Thanks to my stepson who knows more about BTC than most of you all.

No they are not. Bitcoin only exist on the bitcoin blockchain.

[UNTO Chain]

Bitcoins are not stored in any central location. They're just a series of digital signatures that point to other transactions which point to more transactions, etc., until you get back to the genesis block (the first transaction ever). The blockchain is public and anyone can view it at [blockchain.info](https://www.blockchain.com/explorer).

There's no "pool" of Bitcoins; they exist only on the blockchain. There have been about 21 million created so far, but there will never be more than 21 million.

I'm not sure what your son means by spending 1000 hours studying Bitcoin. If you want to learn how Bitcoin works technically, then read through the white paper ([PDF here](http://bitcoin.org/bitcoin.pdf)) or watch this video: https://youtu.be/UMgQb7J6A1o

If you want to learn how to use Bitcoin as currency, start with an exchange like Coinbase or Bitstamp.

[Frankolala]

Bitcoin is stored in the blockchain. Just like a bank, where treasures are stored in locker. Every owner of the locker has his key to it and can access it anytime he feels like inside the bank. When you need you treasure, you can go to your locker and take from it or add to it. See the blockchain like than many small lockers where each person has one with his bitcoin inside it.

The keys to unlock your bitcoin is your private keys because it shows that you are the owner of the locker, otherwise, you wouldn't have the private keys with you.