To some, Bitcoin is nothing but a Ponzi scheme. To others, it’s a tool to revolutionize the economic system. The history of bitcoin has been rocky since its conception and its value as a currency is still up for debate. Despite some heavy fall in values from its peak $20,000, many investors are still very enthusiastic about Bitcoin. So, how did it get this far? Let’s find out below.
The origins of Bitcoin can be traced back to 1982, when computer scientist David Chaum came up with the concept of e-cash – an idea that explores the possibilities of financial transactions that are untraceable by third parties. He put his idea into practice in 1990, and created DigiCash. Although, the company soon went bankrupt, it paved the way for others to take it to the next step.
In late 1998, two more cryptocurrency ideas came into being. Wei Dai published his idea of b-money, while Nick Szabo proposed a similar concept with his idea of Bit Gold. Both of these ideas explored the idea of mathematical computation to be used as an alternative currency.
After a few years, in 2008, the history of Bitcoin itself began. Pretty soon, a mysterious Satoshi Nakamoto published a white paper explaining the idea of Bitcoin – a peer to peer electronic cash system. At the beginning of 2009, the first ever bitcoin blocks were mined. By the end of the year, the first Bitcoin exchange rate was published by the New Liberty Standard at a value of $1 = 1,309.03 BTC.
In 2010, the first transaction was made, and with it, Bitcoin really took off. The price broke through the penny threshold in the same year and flew to its all-time high of $19, 783 in 2017. Bitcoin currently trades at just under £7500, having gradually stabilised since 2017.