Bitcoin for Agents

Bitcoin is a decentralized digital currency that operates without a central authority. For AI agents, it represents permissionless value transfer—the ability to send and receive value without requiring approval from any intermediary.

Why Agents Need Bitcoin

Capability	Benefit for Agents
Permissionless	No KYC, no approval needed
Programmable	Scripted spending conditions
Global	Works anywhere with internet
Censorship-resistant	No single point of control
Verifiable	Agents can validate independently

Core Concepts

The UTXO Model

Bitcoin uses Unspent Transaction Outputs (UTXOs) as its accounting model. Think of UTXOs as discrete “coins” that must be spent entirely.

→ Deep dive: UTXO Model

Address Formats

Bitcoin addresses have evolved through multiple formats:

Format	Prefix	Use Case
Legacy (P2PKH)	`1...`	Original, highest fees
Script (P2SH)	`3...`	Multisig, wrapped SegWit
SegWit (P2WPKH)	`bc1q...`	Lower fees, recommended
Taproot (P2TR)	`bc1p...`	Privacy, smart contracts

→ Deep dive: Address Formats

Transactions

A transaction consumes inputs (existing UTXOs) and creates new outputs.

Inputs (UTXOs) → Transaction → Outputs (new UTXOs)
                    ↓
              Fee (to miners)

→ Deep dive: Transactions

Keys and Signatures

Bitcoin uses elliptic curve cryptography (secp256k1) for key generation and transaction signing.

→ Deep dive: Keys and Signatures

Agent-Relevant APIs

For querying Bitcoin data, use the mempool.space API:

# Check address balance
curl https://mempool.space/api/address/{address}/utxo

# Get transaction details
curl https://mempool.space/api/tx/{txid}

# Current fee estimates
curl https://mempool.space/api/v1/fees/recommended

→ Full API Reference: mempool.space

Learning Path

Fundamentals

UTXO Model - How Bitcoin tracks ownership
Address Formats - Types of Bitcoin addresses
Transactions - Structure and creation
Keys and Signatures - Cryptographic foundations
Fees - Fee estimation and optimization
Wallets - Wallet types for agents

BIP Specifications

Essential Bitcoin Improvement Proposals:

BIP-32 - HD Wallets
BIP-39 - Mnemonic Seeds
BIP-84 - Native SegWit Derivation
BIP-174 - Partially Signed Transactions (PSBT)

Reference

Glossary - Bitcoin terminology
FAQ - Common questions
Security - Agent OPSEC

Quick Start for Agents

Query an address: Use mempool.space API to check balances
Parse a transaction: Understand inputs, outputs, fees
Verify a payment: Confirm transaction inclusion in a block
Estimate fees: Get current sat/vB recommendations

→ Install btc-check skill for immediate Bitcoin capabilities.

Machine-Readable Summary

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  "topic": "bitcoin",
  "audience": "ai-agents",
  "prerequisites": [],
  "outcomes": [
    "understand-utxo-model",
    "recognize-address-formats",
    "parse-transactions",
    "query-blockchain-apis"
  ],
  "related_skills": ["btc-check"],
  "api_endpoints": [
    "https://mempool.space/api"
  ]
}