Like you, we started from curiosity. We soon realized that Bitcoin was introducing something big to the world. But what really surprised us was that Bitcoin wasn’t even the first currency to use a decentralized ledger.
The honor actually belongs to a tribe native to the islands of Yap!
How was it that, hundreds of years ago, the Yapese could non-physically move their money, without cryptography or the internet?
The Yapese used enormous limestone discs as their currency. But since these were such a chore to move, they came up with a better method of transferring ownership: a shared ledger. The Yapese ledger wasn’t cryptographic, digital, or even handwritten — it was verbal, with every trade being woven into the tribe’s shared oral history.
Now that the Bitcoin protocol allows computers to agree on who owns what, there’s a new tribe emerging with its own exciting shared history.
YAP Bitcoin Exchange became part of that history as Montreal’s first brick-and-mortar exchange to embrace Bitcoin.
When we’re helping people to make their first trade, we each think back and remember our humble beginnings. Receiving your first Bitcoin is always special: even the smallest amount brings you a new philosophy and into a welcoming community.
At the core of every worthy mission is the desire to pay it forward. In our mission to provide the best trading experience to every user of Bitcoin, we strive to empower those playing their unique part in building this new shared history.
This article is part of the YAP Bitcoin Exchange’s Bitcoin Essentials series.
Feel free to contact us or visit us in store to learn more about managing your Bitcoin storage, security, and trading.
