In the article titled “What is Bitcoin (BTC)?”, we covered the most important aspects behind the king of cryptocurrencies in a nutshell. This time you will learn how it all started. There’s more to the world of cryptocurrencies than just Bitcoin (BTC), but Bitcoin is the very beginning.
The financial crisis of 2008
After many years of economic growth, capital pouring through the world’s exchanges, the United States of America became the globe’s most robust economy. That was it. However, the year 2008 came and all the foundations of this title were shaken. The economic crisis that began on Wall Street spread around the world. Europe was also strongly affected. Not only large financial institutions but even small businesses suffered. The economic collapse reached almost every wallet of the average citizen of the world. GDP began to fall rapidly and unemployment rose. Under these circumstances, that same year the vision of Bitcoin was born. Coincidence or intentional? It has been speculated that 2008 was the year that Satoshi Nakamoto’s vision came to life. Was Bitcoin (BTC) the answer to the economic crisis and to all the subsequent market collapses that are bound to occur in this age of capitalism? Or is it just a coincidence? We will probably never know. What we do know is that the economic crisis has given Bitcoin its character. It manifests itself as a strong response to global events of a negative nature. The turn of 2020/2021 seems to only confirm this.
Satoshi Nakamoto and the Bitcoin Whitepaper
It has been a long time since 2008. Bitcoin (BTC) is becoming more widely recognized. Large institutions are putting capital into it. However, we still haven’t found out who Satoshi Nakamoto is. Is this the real name of the creator of Bitcoin or is it merely a pseudonym? Or is it the name of a whole staff of creators? This is another unknown that will probably never be solved.
Nevertheless, more and more hypotheses about Nakamoto’s identity are emerging. One of them is Craig Wright – an Australian computer scientist who claimed to be the creator of Bitcoin. Nevertheless, the blockchain community does not believe this theory. One Twitter user, hiding under the nickname “Bounty Hunter”, at one time conducted a private investigation of IP addresses, which revealed that Bitcoin was created in Van Nuys – a neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley, Los Angeles area. Potentially, this could indicate that Satoshi Nakamoto is American, or at least confirm that the first Bitcoin was dug in the US.
Fortunately, among the many question marks, there are also facts. The most important of these is the Whitepaper, the premise behind the Bitcoin project. In it, Satoshi presents the purpose of creating the world’s first cryptocurrency. So, the main reason for the creation of the coin, was a kind of frailty of the current financial system. There was a need to reduce the cost of money transfers, bypassing intermediary institutions, and also to increase the anonymity of money users. However, in the Whitepaper there are not only theoretical assumptions, but also practical tips on the methodology of obtaining electronic coins.
The first mined cryptocurrency block
Genesis, or the first mined Bitcoin block, saw the light of day in January 2009. The first block and every subsequent block until November 2012 amounted to 50 BTC. This was a reward for miners for mining that they could share with the market over time. As we already know, since then, the supply of the first cryptocurrency has been halved with cyclical halving. The cessation of the mining process is predicted to be around 2140. This means that there is still a long implementation process ahead for Bitcoin. Bitcoin miners on the other hand, after mining the last coin remaining in the BTC network, will be able to earn already only on transaction fees.
Looking through the lens of Bitcoin’s widespread adoption, one can certainly say that Satoshi Nakamoto’s vision passed the test. Bitcoin’s market absorption is proceeding at a surprisingly rapid pace. More and more often we come across products or services for which we can pay with the king of cryptocurrencies. The availability of Bitcoins is also developing dynamically. It is no different with exchanges.
Therefore, we know how it started. We are also aware of the dynamic development of blockchain technology, and all sorts of projects based on similar assumptions. The future will show whether Bitcoin will pass the test in the long term and whether it, along with the whole family of cryptocurrencies, will remain with us forever.
