Although the Bitcoin genesis block, the first block of the network, was born on January 3, 2009, it was a few months earlier that the enigmatic Satoshi Nakamoto released the whitepaper of what this cryptocurrency would become.
The October 31 of 2008, Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of one of the most important technological innovations of our time, the Bitcoin, published the whitepaper of what would be the world's first virtual and decentralized currency. Through a mailing list, Nakamoto presented a proposal for peer-to-peer (P2P) money, from user to user global and decentralized, based on cryptographic techniques and an underlying technology that he called blockchainThis would be the first time Nakamoto spoke about Bitcoin.
In his whitepaper, Nakamoto explains the concept of a technology that had never been seen before, but which is now beyond doubt. Nakamoto talked about online payments without intermediaries, digital signatures, timestamps, proof of work, nodes, hashing, double spending, and other concepts that first appeared in his whitepaper and were understood by a fairly small group, but would soon become part of the lexicon of a large part of society.
To date, Bitcoin is the most well-known and popular cryptocurrency on the market, with a capitalization Bitcoin, which began life as a peer-to-peer electronic cash system, is today becoming the most valuable and sought-after reserve asset of all.
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A look to the past
2008 is a year remembered by many for the catastrophe that caused one of the largest financial crises in history. Known as the Great Recession, the 2008 financial and economic crisis left millions of families homeless, jobless and without food, and the actions and deployments of banks to rescue the world from this crisis made the situation worse. In fact, a report published by the BBC reveals that this economic crisis was caused by a number of factors, including mortgage-related debts on investment vehicles, failures in financial regulation and poor corporate governance, as well as a lack of understanding of the financial system by policy makers.
Faced with the cruel reality that once again discredited the traditional financial system and its elite of bankers in the eyes of the world, Satoshi Nakamoto's proposal emerged as an alternative towards the independence and freedom of society. Bitcoin offers a completely digital and decentralized payment system model that connects people directly without the need to go through a financial institution or use intermediaries, restoring the right of citizens to be the absolute owners of their own money.
An unknown creator
Satoshi Nakamoto is the pseudonym that hides the true identity of the person or people who designed this innovation. And although this is one of the topics that has caused the most controversy in the crypto space, to date it remains unknown. Important organizations have begun in-depth investigations to find out the true identity of Nakamoto, without any success to date.
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Whoever he is, Nakamoto anonymously designed, introduced and developed Bitcoin, the protocol, system and cryptocurrency that would challenge the efficiency and necessity of the traditional financial system.
The evolution of Bitcoin
In its early days, the cryptocurrency known as bitcoin (BTC) had no value, but little by little, thanks to its characteristics and properties, it gained interest among developers, who joined the cause, and among the community. Thus, the first real-world transaction made with BTC occurred on May 17, 2010, when Laszlo Hanyecz transferred 10.000 BTC as payment for two pizzas. This event gave rise to what we now know as the Bitcoin Pizza DayAt the time of the transfer, the 10.000 BTC were worth around $80 USD, but as of the date of this publication they would be worth more than $136 million.
The utility of cryptocurrencies, and the potential offered by their systems and protocol, are what give Bitcoin its real value. As Bitcoin.org points out, Bitcoin has great properties, which invite users, merchants and companies to use it, adding value to the currency. Furthermore, it is important to note that Bitcoin, the decentralized network, brings together the greatest computational power of any system that exists today, with thousands of computers supporting it.
“It has the characteristics of money (durability, portability, fungibility, scarcity, divisibility, and recognizability) based on mathematical properties rather than relying on physical properties (like gold and silver) or relying on centralized authorities (like fiat currencies). In short, Bitcoin is backed by mathematics. With these attributes, all this kind of money needs to maintain its value is trust and adoption.”
For all these reasons, Bitcoin is currently making progress worldwide and in several industries, with significant value, a higher level of maturity, a team of creative developers, a community that supports it, constantly growing adoption, and the recognition and participation of several important financial players within its ecosystem.
A big celebration
Although many consider January 3rd to be the true birth of Bitcoin, due to the generation of genesis block, October 31 is also remembered by a large majority as the date that marked the birth of this innovation. For this reason, in a campaign Powered by Halborn, a cybersecurity and blockchain company, several Hollywood celebrities are coming together to express their feelings about this technological innovation in short videos. Charlie Sheen, David Hasselhoff, RZA, Carole Baskin, Hassan Johnson, Doug Benson and Soulja Boy are some of the celebrities who appear to support Bitcoin and its enigmatic creator.
Charlie Sheen commented that he did not yet own bitcoins, but that this innovation points to a better path for society, one that leads to freedom.
“Well done Satoshi Nakamoto, you showed that there was another way, a better way. For that and much more you should be proud and grateful.”
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