The History of Bitcoin: A Crypto Timeline
The story of bitcoin rivals Rocky and The Karate Kid as one of the most impressive underdog tales. From its beginnings with the Cypherpunks and the libertarian counter-culture to its adoption by JP Morgan, bitcoin has emerged victorious in its battle for disruption. This article will walk you step-by-step through bitcoin’s heroic journey.
Libertarian Dreams and The Cypherpunks (1970)
Libertarians, obsessed with trying to maximize freedom and autonomy, were unhappy with the increasing reliance on digital banking and resulting lack of privacy. They wanted something as fast as the internet, but as free as cash.
Along came the Cypherpunks, who decided that the answer to this question of free currency and transactions could be found in cryptography.
Bitcoin Predecessors (1989–1998)
One of the first recognized attempts at creating a cryptocurrency was DigiCash. DigiCash allowed users to sign off on transactions anonymously. DigiCash failed because the centralized organization in charge of verifying signatures went bankrupt.
The next attempt was HashCash. HashCash wanted to solve the problem of email spamming. It forced the generator of each email to solve a cryptographic puzzle in order for it to be validated and sent. This proof-of-work methodology limited spammers’ ability to send countless emails.
Lastly, B-Money built on HashCash’s proof-of-work methodology and implemented it as a means of creating money.
The White Paper (Oct 2008)
The beginning of bitcoin is marked by Satoshi Nakamoto’s publication of the bitcoin white paper. This paper outlined the purpose of bitcoin and the technology behind it.
The Genesis Block (Jan 2009)
The first Bitcoin block, the Genesis block, was made by Satoshi Nakamoto with a reference to a story in the Times of London involving a chancellor bailing out banks.
Bitcoin for Pizza (May 2010)
Bitcoin connoisseur Laszlo Hanyecz purchased $25 worth of pizza for 10,000 bitcoin, which today would be valued at $81 million. This marked the first “real” trade of bitcoin for an item of value.
Mt. Gox Bitcoin Exchange (July 2010)
Mt. Gox was the first online bitcoin exchange where people could trade US dollars for bitcoins.
Bitcoin Drug Scandal (Feb 2011)
Silk Road, an online black market known for selling drugs and other illegal products and services, adopted bitcoin as its primary payment method due to its decentralized nature. Other online black market and pornographic websites followed suit.
Bitcoin Startups (2012–2013)
Soon after its legitimate adoption, bitcoin sparked a series of related startups. These startups included Coinbase, Blockchain Capital, BitGo, and Andreesen Horowitz.
New Cryptocurrencies (2015)
Many new cryptocurrencies such as Litecoin, ZCash, and Ethereum emerged with the purpose of bettering bitcoin or serving a differentiated purpose.
The Fork (Aug 2017)
The number of bitcoin transactions exceeded its infrastructure that allowed blocks to hold no more than 1 MB of transactions. During this time, people argued as to how to scale bitcoin. Ultimately, bitcoin branched off into what is now known as bitcoin cash. It also added features such as SegWit to help with scaling.
The High (Dec 2017)
Bitcoin hit a record value of $20,000 per bitcoin, partially driven by unjustified speculation.
The Burst (Spring 2018)
Soon after its high of $20,000, bitcoin, and all the other cryptocurrencies, plummeted in value. This was likely due to unjustified speculation that built bitcoin up to its high of $20,000, along with an “abandon-ship” mentality.
JP Morgan Embraces Crypto (Feb 2019)
After years of criticizing cryptocurrencies, JP Morgan decided to launch its own crypto. While their strategy is rooted in the core technologies behind bitcoin, it is an enterprise version of the blockchain technology, meaning that, among other differences, it’s private instead of public.
