Nova Sapien blog
Learn bitcoin by using it.
Plain-language guides to buying, spending and holding bitcoin, from a first small purchase to keeping savings in keys you control.
- Written for beginners
- Facts checked November 2026
Featured series
Bitcoin in Everyday Life
Three short parts that take a reader from a first purchase to running the network and holding their own keys. Each part stands on its own, and the take-home guide collects every link in two pages.
Part 1 · 5 minute read
Buying and spending bitcoin
A one-week starter plan, how to choose where to buy, and how to pay for everyday things over Lightning.
Part 2
Borrowing, taxes and accepting bitcoin
How bitcoin-backed loans work and where the risks are, three record-keeping habits that keep taxes simple, and the options for accepting bitcoin as a business.
Part 3
Running the network and holding your own keys
What nodes and home miners do, the honest odds of solo mining, and how to move savings from an exchange into keys you hold yourself.
Guides
Where bitcoin is accepted
Directory · Boulder featured
A directory of places that take bitcoin
How to find shops that accept bitcoin with the free BTC Map, local bitcoin groups in twelve US cities, places to look abroad, and a closer look at Boulder, Colorado.
Keep learning
Prefer a structured course?
Nova Sapien’s free courses include The Problem of Money and The Solution as Bitcoin, plus a self-study course to work through at your own pace.
Nothing on this blog is financial, legal or tax advice. Fees, rates and features change, so check each company’s own site before acting.