The Bitcoin White Paper turns 14 years old
Fourteen years ago today, a still unidentified person or group using the pseudonym “Satoshi Nakamoto” sent out an email about a nine-page white paper outlining the principles of a blockchain-based digital currency that became bitcoin.
Sent to a crypto-enthusiast group mailing list called Cyperpunk on October 31, 2008, the email began: “I have been working on a new electronic cash system that is completely peer-to-peer, with no trusted third party,” and provided readers with a link to the white paper.
By 2021, 23% of consumers — an estimated 59.6 million people — owned at least one cryptocurrency, according to “The US Crypto Consumer: Cryptocurrency Use in Online and In-Store Purchases,” a PYMNTS and BitPay collaboration.
A key element of the principles outlined in the white paper was solving cashless spending’s “double-spending” problem — the ability to spend the same funds twice — by using transactions that are time-stamped and unanimously verified by validators, CoinDesk reported Monday (Oct. 31).
Launched as it did during the Great Recession, Bitcoin was said to offer autonomy from banks and governments and began circulating among users amid much debate about its best use cases, its value and the ways to persuade others to use it, reported NerdWallet Monday.
At the time as well as today, the bitcoin white paper has inspired efforts to undermine the power of tech companies and others focused on centralized power and profit, Cointelegraph reported Monday.
Fourteen years after sending that email and distributing the white paper, Satoshi Nakamoto remains unidentified and has not been heard from since April 23, 2011, according to the CoinDesk report.
As PYMNTS reported on August 2, the real identity of Nakamoto remains a matter of eternal curiosity in the crypto community.
Read more: Who Is Bitcoin Creator ‘Satoshi Nakamoto’ And Why Does He Still Matter?
That’s likely to continue as “bitcoin,” “blockchain,” and “cryptocurrency” have become words that most people have at least heard of since the industry exploded into mainstream public consciousness.
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