Learn more about Bitcoin.
Since its early days, many have seen Bitcoin as a potential equivalent in the digital world, so-called “digital gold”. In the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, Bitcoin was embraced by many as a fundamentally superior alternative to central banking and fiat currencies. Its store of value properties have been favourably compared to gold, and Bitcoin has been steadily gaining market share as a safe haven asset and as a medium of exchange used in transactions. Bitcoin has also been favoured as one of the main currencies to subscribe to ICOs/IEOs, and to lock in DeFi contracts.
History
The culmination of prior efforts and research dating back to 1982 by cryptographers, the National Security Agency, and renowned computer scientists, Bitcoin was the first decentralised cryptocurrency and blockchain.
The paper describing the technology and the real world problems it solves was published on 31 October 2008 and the genesis block was created on 3 January 2009. The ideological roots of such decentralised money are traced back to the Austrian school of economics.
After proof of concept use mostly by developers, black markets became major users until the Bitcoin Foundation was created in 2012 to promote mainstream use and further development.
Although a great number of blockchain protocols have been launched since, and many of these are technologically superior, Bitcoin has remained the preeminent cryptocurrency as the crypto market matures and is embraced by institutional investors and regulators.
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