Bitcoin was created by an unknown programmer who went by the alias Satoshi Nakamoto on online forums. No one knows who this person is. Some say it wasn't one programmer who created bitcoin, and that Satoshi Nakamoto was actually a group of programmers.
In 2014, a Newsweek journalist claimed to have found the real Satoshi Nakamoto. Dorian Nakamoto denied being the creator of bitcoin.
In 2015, Craig Wright, an Australian businessman claimed to be Satoshi Nakamoto. He later decided to back down saying that he did not have the courage to go public.
In November 2017, someone wrote an article on Medium to say that Elon Musk was Satoshi Nakamoto. Elon said that he was not the creator of bitcoin.
So how did it all start...
Bitcoin is based on mathematics and uses cryptography to secure transactions and control the creation of the cryptocurrency.
In the 1990's, a movement was started by civil libertarians who used strong cryptography and privacy-enhancing technologies as a route to social and political change. Ideas from the cypherpunk movement was used when creating bitcoin. To learn more about the Cypherpunks movement, read this article by CoinDesk.
Wei Dai, a computer engineer, published a whitepaper describing "b-money” in 1998.
This was anonymous electronic cash described as money which is impossible to regulate. Transactions are verified by the community who update a collective ledger book and are rewarded b-money for their efforts.
Satoshi Nakamoto referenced b-money when creating Bitcoin.
Nick Szabo is a computer scientist, legal scholar and cryptographer known for his research in digital contracts and digital currency.
The phrase and concept of "smart contracts" was developed by Szabo
In 1998, Nick Szabo designed ‘bit gold’. Users dedicated computing power to solve puzzles that were sent to a public ledger, where each solution becomes a part of the next challenge.
Satoshi Nakamoto released the bitcoin whitepaper on the 31st October 2008. It described how bitcoin was a cryptocurrency and solved the problem of double spending.
Hal Finney was a cryptographic pioneer who worked on his own proof of work system. He believed that computers could be used to liberate and protect people, rather than control them.
Hal Finney became the first person to use the bitcoin software.
In January 2009, Satoshi Nakamoto sent 10 bitcoins to Hal to test the system. This was the first bitcoin transaction.
The first bitcoin transaction was 2 pizzas for 10,000 bitcoins. On the 17th May 2010, Laszlo Hanyecz made an offer to pay 10,000 bitcoins for anyone who would sell 2 pizzas. He thought it would be interesting to be able to use bitcoin to pay for pizzas.
After a few posts, 18-year-old Jeremy Sturdivant sold 2 pizzas for 10,000 bitcoins. Today, 10,000 bitcoins is just under 23 million dollars.
By November 2010, bitcoin's marketcap exceeded 1 million dollars. In June 2011, bitcoin experienced the great bubble of 2011. The price of bitcoin went from $32 in June, to $2 by the end of the year. It recovered the next year.
In 2013, bitcoin's marketcap reached 1 billion dollars. 2017 was a crazy year for cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin reached its previous high of $1000, and then towards the end of the year it passed $20,000.
All the information and facts were correct and up to date at the time of writing.
I hope that you find the course useful and enjoyable.
Kind Regards,
Cryptoplayer
