The idea of digital money was first expressed in 1983. For a long time (until 2008) it existed as an idea. The first cryptographic currency — bitcoin — was created over 10 years ago.
During the first 5 years, competitors offered alternative options based on its algorithm – altcoins. In 2017, the price of bitcoin suddenly skyrocketed. Since that time, people have been talking about who created it and why.
How digital money appeared
The emergence of the idea was caused by the developing system of cashless transfers. The main task of the hitherto unknown creator of bitcoin was to develop algorithms that enable users, while remaining incognito, to make transparent payments through the network at the same time. The difficulty was the need to provide information about the payment, keeping the personal data of the sender and recipient secret.
The main ways to protect against fraudsters appeared much earlier:
- 1983 – David Chown came up with the “blind signature” algorithm, an electronic cash protocol;
- 1997 – Adam Black developed the anti-spam Hashcash system.
Nick Szabo deserves a mention. He was involved in the Bit Gold decentralized financial system project. Perhaps he is the creator of Bitcoin in hiding. Szabo’s authorship is sometimes brought up for discussion, but the programmer himself denies it. He says that he was simply the first to try a similar technology, and the attempt ended in failure.
How bitcoin conquered the world
The founder of the cryptocurrency is considered to be the Japanese Satoshi Nakamoto. This is how the anonymous developer introduced himself, who wrote the new money protocols in 2008. He gave the name to the currency – Bitcoin. Mining of digital coins began in 2009. The author of the idea made the first wallet of digital coins and generated the initial block. At first, the price of a monetary unit was calculated depending on the electricity consumed, it was not provided financially.
But after 2 years, exchange services for real money started working. Then proposals began to come in to participate in exchange trading on a par with the European currency. The speed of progress surprised the creator of bitcoin. Well-known media, stock exchanges and corporations have noticed a new proposed payment option for the purchase of goods and services. Criminal elements also contributed to the popularity. The Silk Road criminal group sold illegal goods in America, accepting bitcoins as payment. In 2013, its leaders were arrested. Cryptocurrency is being taken seriously.
Who can be the creator of the cryptocurrency
The main version is its anonymity. This man lives hiding his name from the public and hiding behind a pseudonym. Satoshi Nakamoto is most likely a fictitious name. The meaning of hieroglyphs is great for describing the idea of cryptocurrencies.
The decoding is as follows:
- satoshi – ingenuity, wisdom, clear mind;
- na-ka – interdependence, internal environment;
- moto – origin, foundation, foundation.
He is cautious and, having acquired a significant fortune, avoids the attention of the public. According to some data, this is a million bitcoins (an amount exceeding 2.5 billion US dollars).
In 2010, Mr. Satoshi left the project, which he himself announced to the public. For more than 10 years, it has been run by other specialists, and the mysterious creator of the electronic currency is working on other developments in the IT field.
Some researchers do not consider the developer to be Japanese. He does not speak Japanese anywhere, writes instructions for the electronic currency protocol and conducts correspondence in English. No manual was written in Japanese. Picking up this idea, the media at different times “discovered” different names: Michael Clair, Jack McCaleb, Dorian Prentice, Satoshi Nakamoto, Craig Wright, Donal O’Mahoney, Michael Piertz.
How to explain the appeal of electronic coins
However, none of these people managed to convincingly prove their involvement in the emergence of Bitcoin. So far, no one has been able to find out the identity of the developer, while the exchange rate remains steadily high. No other currency has ever risen in price like this. Even the rate of platinum is 8 times less.
What makes it so popular? The cryptocurrency system is characterized by:
- Anonymity. When carrying out transactions, identification is not required. No one enters their data and can not use someone else’s.
- A high level of protection. The transaction archive stores information about all money transfers, starting from the time the coins were mined. If necessary, the movement is easy to track.
- Decentralized storage. Electronic money is free from the influence of states, political or economic forces. Whether it be an individual or a corporation, no one can interfere with the functioning of the system or arbitrarily fluctuate course.
The opportunity to get digital currency is equally open to everyone, which also makes it popular. To do this, you do not need to contact special intermediaries or go to the bank. Anyone who shows interest can become a member by creating new coins. In the future, profits await everyone if you follow the necessary security rules by creating a bitcoin wallet and keeping savings.
By mining or buying coins, you can use them to pay for services, make purchases, save them to your wallet for exchange when the exchange rate rises, and transfer them to real money (if necessary). Bitcoin has achieved recognition as a means of payment. Some states have already recognized its legitimacy. Bitcoin is freely used in Japan, the United States, Canada, the UK, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Australia, Singapore, and the Czech Republic.
