Development of Bitcoin

Cryptocurrencies have been a hot topic for more than a decade. With so much news surrounding Bitcoin, it can be difficult for investors to fully understand the significance and overall purpose of this ever-expanding market. However, this task becomes easier by understanding the history of Bitcoin, the most widely traded cryptocurrency on the market.

Bitcoin was first launched in 2008 as a decentralized currency that does not require a central bank or any intermediaries. It can be sent to and from users over the Bitcoin network, a peer-to-peer network where transactions are verified by nodes and recorded on the blockchain.

The inventor of Bitcoin remains a bit of a mystery. A paper titled Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System was posted to the cryptography mailing list on October 31, 2008, by "Satoshi Nakamoto." However, Satoshi Nakamoto never revealed any personal information about himself, and his identity has never been confirmed. This has led many to believe that the name is a pseudonym for one or more of the creators.

Bitcoin was first used after its release as open source software in 2009, when Satoshi Nakamoto mined the blockchain's starting block. This is called the genesis block, and it contains the first 50 Bitcoins ever created. From that point on, Bitcoin continued to be mined by other early contributors until 2010. That's when programmer Laszlo Hanyecz made the first known commercial transaction using cryptocurrency by buying two Papa John's pizzas for 10,000 Bitcoins.

Since then, Bitcoin has been traded hundreds of millions of times, with the earliest major transactions occurring on the black market. The largest of these was Silk Road, which saw nearly 10 million Bitcoins traded during its existence. Regulation has emerged in several countries due to the black market use of cryptocurrencies. The People's Bank of China initiated the most impactful regulation through three separate actions:

1. In December 2013, the bank banned financial institutions from using Bitcoin.

2. In September 2017, the use of Bitcoin was completely banned.

3. In June 2021, it cracked down on major cryptocurrency miners.

After each scenario, the price of Bitcoin will be halved. However, despite these regulations, the price of Bitcoin is still supported and trending upward thanks to institutions and countries that allow the use of cryptocurrencies. Tala, Circle and Stellar Development Foundations’ partnership with Visa, as well as El Salvador’s legislation to make Bitcoin legal tender, are examples of this.