On January 3, 2009, a person or group using the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto launched the Bitcoin mainnet, mining the genesis block containing 50 BTC.
Just before that, on October 31, 2008, the white paper of the first cryptocurrency was published.
The motives for creating Bitcoin and the identity of Satoshi Nakamoto remain a mystery that the crypto community and beyond are trying to solve.
The hash of the genesis block of the first cryptocurrency contains the headline “Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks” from The Times.
It is possible that one of the incentives for creating Bitcoin was the global financial crisis of 2007-2008, marked by the collapse of the largest investment banks, widespread declines in production, falling demand and commodity prices, rising unemployment, and active government intervention in the economy.
The first Bitcoin transaction took place on January 12, 2009 — Satoshi Nakamoto sent 10 BTC to Hal Finney. Three days earlier, Bitcoin software version 0.1 was published.
As of today, the average price of the first cryptocurrency stands at $34,640, and its market capitalization is $643.9 billion.
Glassnode’s Chief Technology Officer Rafael Schultze-Kraft calculated that over the year the price of digital gold rose by 365%.
#Bitcoin is up 365% since its last birthday.
How poetic.
— Rafael Schultze-Kraft (@n3ocortex) January 3, 2021
Bitcoin began attracting demand from institutional investors. According to Bitcoin Treasuries, institutions hold more than 5% of the total supply of the first cryptocurrency ($39.7 billion).
Happy Genesis Block Day!
For more on the history of the creation of the first cryptocurrency and the possible identity of Satoshi Nakamoto, read the linked article:
From a drug dealer to Elon Musk: how Satoshi Nakamoto managed to stay anonymous after ten years of searching
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