Celebrate bitcoin’s milestones on these holidays
Bitcoin has already begun to radically change how people transact. Wondering how we got to where we are today? Here are a list of bitcoin’s milestones to date that have helped define the ecosystem and build a new financial future for millions across the globe.
Bitcoin’s White Paper — October 31, 2008
Bitcoin’s initial round of exposure to the world was an academic paper) called “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Payment System”. Written by an unknown person or persons using the alias Satoshi Nakamoto, the paper laid the groundwork for the digital currency and the peer-to-peer decentralized payment network that powers it all. It’s been speculated that Halloween was intentionally chosen as a release date.
The Genesis Block — January 3, 2009
A few months after the release of the White Paper, Satoshi mined the very first bitcoin block, which was the first evidence of activity recorded on the block chain. This activity, referred to as the Genesis Block or Block 0, is commonly celebrated as the other half of bitcoin’s birthdate; the White Paper being the initial half. Both being important milestones, Block 0 represents the genesis of bitcoin in action. The first official bitcoin transactio followed soon after, with cryptographer Hal Finney receiving a total of 10 BTC from Nakamoto on January 12, 2009.
Bitcoinween — October 31, 2014
Blockchain created a bitcoin-inspired jack-o’-lantern contest sparked by social media movement (#BitcoinWeen) http://t.co/a5ZCfBp60X
- CoinDesk (@coindesk) November 2, 2014
During 2014’s spooky season, a contest dubbed “Bitcoinween” was organized by our very own Nicolas Cary. The pumpkin carving contest put the spotlight on bitcoin-accepting nonprofits, with Cary donating $500 in bitcoin to the contest winner’s nonprofit of choice. While Bitcoinween was only a one-year event, one thing is clear: bitcoin is an epic transaction medium for nonprofits.
Bitcoin Pizza Day — May 22, 2010
This holiday generates quite a bit of buzz on social media each year. Despite what a quick Google Search might lead newer users to think, this bitcoin milestone didn’t kick off because the industry has some strange pizza fetish. The truth is that pizza was the first documented purchase of a good with bitcoin.
In May of 2010, BitcoinTalk.org user Laszlo posted an offer to pay 10,000 BTC to anyone who would order him two pizzas. At the time, bitcoin was still in its infancy and hadn’t been used for purchasing much of anything. On May 22, Laszlo’s offer was accepted and his bitcoin-for-pizza transaction marked the very beginning of bitcoin’s use potential as a medium of exchange. The 10,000 BTC transaction was only worth $41 USD at the time, but now this pivotal transaction is worth over $83M.
Today there are easier ways exchange bitcoin for a slice of cheesy goodness, like Pizza For Coins, or through gift card e-tailer eGifter. Thank you, Laszlo!
The Halving — once every four years
Halving is a part of the bitcoin mining process. In short, bitcoin miners are rewarded with bitcoin for each block of transactions they validate. How much they receive is divided in half during the halving, which occurs about once every four years (or once every 210,000 blocks). To date, there have been two halvings. The first was in November 2012, which reduced the reward from 50 to 25 BTC. In 2016, gatherings from around the globe celebrated the second halving event, which saw it reduced again to 12.5 BTC.
The reward halving makes bitcoin increasingly difficult to mine. As its demand and utility also rises, this creates scarcity, which can have a significant influence on bitcoin’s market value.
And there you have it, a quick and (hopefully) insightful primer on bitcoin’s milestones that have inspired parties, fundraising efforts, and a worldwide pizza party that’s been happening on the same date for the past 7 years.
Originally published at https://blockchain-blog.ghost.io on June 9, 2017.
