October 31 2008, an unsuspecting and under-prepared world, received a description of the currency in a nine-page document (white paper) called “Bitcoin: Peer-to-Peer Electronic Money System” published by a person or group of people under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto.
In fact, it was a master plan for a global currency that no central bank could control, but anybody could use.
Genesis \ -Block
The first 50 bitcoins were born 3 January 2009 of the year in 18: 15 GMT. They were grouped in a unit called a block, and the first of these blocks was called the genesis block.
From this point on, each new block was associated with the previous one, and together they began to create what is widely known today as the blockchain.
The first transaction between the two accounts occurred nine days later, when Satoshi Nakamoto sent 10 Bitcoins to computer expert Hal Finney to test the system.
Coin Price - $ 0,00076
For the first time, the price of Bitcoin was calculated on 5 on October 2009 of the year, based on the cost of its production, and it was $ 0,00076.
Such operations include a lot of machines with running processors that waste energy. The cost of electricity should be offset by the real cost of Bitcoin.
Tasks become more and more difficult as the number of users (computers) increases, which gradually makes Mining coins are getting more expensive.
Pizza For $ 30 Million
22 in May 2010, the developer of a virtual currency from Florida named Laszlo Hanic agreed to deliver two pizzas for 10 000 bitcoins.
This is considered the world's first purchase for bitcoins, and at that time it cost $ 41. Today, each of these pizzas would be worth more than $ 30 million.
22 May went down in history as Bitcoin Pizza Day.
The disappearance of Nakamoto
Nakamoto announced his withdrawal from the 12 project in December 2010 of the year, and four months later he stopped all his bitcoin operations.
The identity of Nakamoto and the number of bitcoins belonging to him remain a mystery.
Nakamoto briefly appeared in an online chat in 2014, refuting the allegations of Newsweek journalists who allegedly exposed the identity of the creator of Bitcoin.
Crime of the Decade
In February, 2014 of the year, after two weeks of failures in work, the main at the time Bitcoin exchange in the world called Mt. Gox filed for bankruptcy.
More than 80% of all bitcoin transactions passed through this Tokyo stock exchange. Its leaders said they had a hack that led to the loss of $ 477 million in cryptocurrencies.
Former head of Mt. Gox Frenchman Mark Carpeles spent some time behind bars. He did not plead guilty to charges of embezzlement and data manipulation.
Breakthrough
Last year was insane for Bitcoin, and it did not leave the media pages because of the increase in cost from less than $ 1000 in January to a record maximum of $ 19 511, marked December 18.
Then the virtual bubble burst, and the price of the main cryptocurrency began to decline rapidly.
Now the coin retains about a third of its record value, and trading volumes are much more modest than at the peak. Bitcoin volatility has become noticeably lower, and analysts say that this is either a sign of the maturity of an asset, or the beginning of its end.
Uncertainty
Proponents of the main cryptocurrency hope that the next breakthrough will occur after approval by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Bitcoin-ETF - financial instruments with which you can track the value of bitcoins. ETF is one of the most popular trading mechanisms, and the green light from the SEC can give a massive boost to Bitcoin, providing it with both short-term price growth and a reputation as an asset suitable for large investment funds.
Currently, the SEC is considering several applications for Bitcoin ETF. Earlier, the commission rejected a number of proposals, pointing out, among other things, the risks of fraud.