We all know that Bitcoin was the first cryptocurrency launched in 2009. However, the idea of cryptocurrency predates Bitcoin. It was in the 1980s when David Chaum launched the first idea of cryptocurrency voice. Cryptocurrencies have come a long way since like this trading bot, and now there are almost 1000 cryptocurrencies in circulation.
The history of cryptocurrencies is quite fascinating. While the cryptocurrency market is receiving a large number of investors every day, it is also important to know the history of cryptocurrencies.
- As mentioned earlier, the history of cryptocurrencies can be traced back to the 1980s, when David Chaum first introduced the idea of cyber currencies. In 1995, Digicash was launched by him. Bit Gold was also launched in 1998, which can be called a predecessor to Bitcoin. Most of these cryptocurrencies did not work because the platforms had many issues which hadn’t been solved yet.
- In 2009, Satoshi Nakamoto released a white paper containing the Bitcoin theory and how it would work. This marked the beginning phase of Bitcoin. Satoshi Nakamoto was known the first person to introduce Bitcoins to the financial investment markets. Talking about when first Bitcoin got introduced, it had zero market value. But in 2010, somebody sold 10,000 Bitcoins for 2 pizzas. The value of those Bitcoins is $100 million today. Bitcoin was successful because it used the blockchain system and a decentralized platform. This made peer-to-peer lending easy and without the necessity of a 3rd party, namely the bank.
- 2011 saw the launch of many alternative coins. Any coin other than Bitcoin is now called Alternative or AltCoins. These old coins were upgraded versions of Bitcoin, and Litecoin was the first to launch Altcoin.
- In 2012, WordPress became the first company to accept Bitcoin as payment. Many other popular companies, such as Microsoft and Tesla, now accept payment in Bitcoin. Till 2014 Bitcoins’ market value kept on rising and falling over time. Bitcoin also faced many scams, and Mt.Gox, the largest Bitcoin exchange, had to shut down because of bankruptcy. The exchange had lost more than 850000 Bitcoins which were claimed that they were stolen. Many cryptocurrencies did not use digital wallets, and hence their private keys were not secured, which led to significant scams.
- Ethereum is known to be thesecond most popular cryptocurrency in right after Bitcoins. Launched in 2017, Ethereum is known to be an alternative to Bitcoin and allows smart contracts, which lead to decentralized finance (Defi) transactions. Moreover, this network also allows other networks to use the blockchain and build their decentralized apps, unlike Bitcoin. That year also saw an upgradation to the Bitcoin blockchain system, which made Bitcoin more secure, and its market value gradually began to rise.
- Several other cryptocurrencies emerged during this time. These included Bitcoin Cash, TRON, Ripple, etc. The market value was still fluctuating at this. However, by the end of 2017, Bitcoin had a market value of almost $20,000.
- 2020 saw a drastic market price rise in Bitcoin and other forms of cryptocurrencies. Due to the Covid pandemic, many people lost their jobs, and many were looking for alternative sources of income. The cryptocurrency platforms provided that. With major companies like Tesla investing in Bitcoin at the beginning of 2021, the cryptocurrency saw the highest record of $69,000 at the end of that year.
- With time, many other types of cryptocurrencies have been launched. Stablecoins have also been introduced, which are tied to stable assets like traditional currencies. For example, Tether is backed by the US dollar and therefore is more stable than cryptocurrencies like Ethereum. Or Bitcoin? So many social tokens, utility tokens, and NFTs have been launched. Many social media platforms have been built on blockchain, and they provide an alternative source of income for posting content on those platforms.
Conclusion
Thus, we can easily trace the growth of Bitcoin from 10,000 coins for 2 pizzas to one Bitcoin, accounting for $69,000 in 2021. The Cryptocurrency market is an ever-growing market, and though the market value of cryptocurrencies is rising and falling, it is a good market for investments at present. For more information, visit öl profit-App to start trading Bitcoins today!
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