Bitcoin genesis block mined fourteen years ago

On 3 January 2009, a person or group of people under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto launched the Bitcoin mainnet, mining the genesis block with 50 BTC.

In its hash lies the headline of The Times article «Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks», a British publication.

Just before the network launch, on 31 October 2008, the Bitcoin white paper was published.

The first transaction took place on 12 January 2009 — Satoshi Nakamoto sent 10 BTC to Hal Finney. Three days earlier, the Bitcoin software version 0.1 was released.

The identity of Nakamoto and the motives for creating Bitcoin remain a mystery that crypto communities and others continue to try to solve.

One of the probable reasons for creating Bitcoin was the global financial crisis of 2007–2008, accompanied 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.

In November 2021 the first cryptocurrency reached a high of $69,000. As of writing, digital gold trades at around $16,740, down 75.8% from the ATH. The market leader’s capitalisation stands at $321.8 billion.

Happy Genesis Block Day!

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