Part One
Based on a free-market ideology, Bitcoin was invented in 2008 by an anonymous person known as Satoshi Nakamoto.[6] Bitcoin came into use as a currency in 2009,[7] when its application was released as open source software.[8]:ch. 1 In 2021, El Salvador adopted it as legal tender.[9] It is often viewed as an investment and has been described by many scholars as an economic bubble.[10] Because Bitcoin is used under pseudonyms, it has been used by criminals, which has drawn the attention of regulatory authorities, leading to its ban in several countries as of 2021.[11]
the date
Historical background
Prior to Bitcoin, several cryptocurrencies had been issued, starting with David Chaum's eCash in the 1980s.[12] The idea that solutions to mathematical puzzles could have some value was first proposed in 1992 by cryptographers Cynthia Dwork and Mony Naor.[12] Adam Back independently rediscovered the concept when he developed the Hashcash system, an anti-spam proof-of-work system, in 1997.[12] The first proposals for a decentralized cryptocurrency based on digital scarcity came from Chinese computer engineers Wei Dai (b-money) and Nick Szabo (bit gold) in 1998.[13] In 2004, computer scientist Hal Finney developed the first reusable proof-of-work currency.[14] However, these numerous attempts were unsuccessful:[12] Chaum's concept required central control, and no banks were willing to adopt it, Hashcash was not protected against double-spending, and BitGold or bMoney were unable to withstand Sybil cyberattacks.[12]
2008–2009: Establishment
Justice
 External image The cover page of The Times of January 3, 2009, showing the title used in the composition block.


Bitcoin logos designed by Satoshi Nakamoto in 2009 (left) and 2010 (right).
The domain name "bitcoin.org" was registered on August 19, 2008.[15] On October 31, 2008, a link to a paper by Satoshi Nakamoto titled "Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System" was posted on a cryptography mailing list.[16] Nakamoto completed and released the open-source Bitcoin software in January 2009.[7] Nakamoto's identity remains unknown.[6] According to computer scientist Arvind Narayanan, all of the individual components of Bitcoin originated in previous academic literature.[12] Nakamoto's innovation was the complex interaction of the components, resulting in a decentralized digital cash system that could withstand Siebel attacks and was able to bypass erroneous calculations, and was later referred to as the first blockchain.[12][17] Nakamoto's research was not peer-reviewed and was initially ignored by academics who claimed it could not work.[12]
On January 3, 2009, the Bitcoin network was created when Nakamoto generated the first block in the chain, known as the Genesis Block. [18] The block included the text "The Times 03/January/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bank bailout", the date of The Times's publication and its headline. [7] Nine days later, Hal Finney received the first bitcoin transaction: ten bitcoins from Nakamoto. [19] Wei Dai and Nick Szabo were also early supporters. [18] On May 22, 2010, the first known bitcoin transaction occurred when programmer László Hanyecz purchased two pizzas from Papa John's for ₿10,000, a day later celebrated as "Bitcoin Pizza Day".