Part 7/10:
Miners—which are essentially participants in this computational game—are rewarded in Bitcoin itself. They expend significant energy, guessing computational "passwords," and in return, they earn new bitcoins. This mechanism, called mining, ensures miners are motivated to keep the system honest and functioning. Because there’s a cap of 21 million Bitcoins, no entity or government can flood the market with more.
This scarcity creates intrinsic value. In contrast to fiat currencies—whose value depends on politics, trust, and government printing—the limited supply makes Bitcoin akin to digital gold. It is self-sustaining and transparent, with every transaction and coin history openly accessible on the blockchain.