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Today, October 31, 2023, marks the 15 anniversary of Bitcoin white paper, the first cryptocurrency laid-out legacy worldwide. Notably, on October 31, 2008, the pseudonymous person/persons called Satoshi Nakamoto released the Bitcoin white paper through mail to some cryptographers.
The white paper’s release date corresponds to the annual celebration of Halloween.
The Release Of Bitcoin White Paper And Its Revolution Of The Global Financial System
In an opening sentence to his mail, Nakamoto titled the BTC document “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System.”
Further, the creator of the first global crypto asset wrote:
“I’ve been working on a new electronic cash system that’s fully peer-to-peer, with no trusted third party.”
Through the white paper, Nakamoto introduced the concept of decentralization in the financial system. He projected the process as a solution to issues of ‘double spending’ on digital currency while promoting peer-to-peer transactions.
The white paper indicated that Bitcoin will function as a network of nodes.
It will ensure the validation and recording of transactions via a Proof-of-Work (PoW) consensus mechanism. Two months later, Bitcoin was launched on January 3, 2009, as the first cryptocurrency.
At the time of the release of the Bitcoin white paper in October 2008, the global system of money, markets, and finance was shaking.
There were implosions of prominent financial firms like Lehman Brothers while the stock market tanked. BTC brought in a system with a resuscitating and revolutionary effect on the global financial system.
BTC mining attracted more attention through its real-life use in purchasing pizzas, boosting the Bitcoin blockchain.
Satoshi Referred To Prominent Inventors In Bitcoin Creation
The advent of Bitcoin reflected Satoshi’s breakthrough in computer science. Also, it supported some developments within the e-money and crypto spaces.
Nakamoto’s key reference in the BTC white paper is Wei Dai’s invention of B-money. Though the electronic peer-to-peer cash system never launched, it provided the major path for Nakamoto’s BTC initiative.
Moreover, the authentication process for transactions through PoW became a handy inclusion by the founder. Nakamoto imitated Adam Back’s Hashcash invention of 1997 to incorporate PoW in BTC. BTC timestamps are another unique functionality of the cryptocurrency from Nakamoto.
The Cypherpunks and Fathers of #Bitcoin:
• Hal Finney: Reusable PoW
• Adam Back: Hashcash
• Wei Dai: B-money
• David Chaum: DigiCash
• Nick Szabo: BitGold
• Phil Zimmermann: PGP
• Bram Cohen: BitTorrent
• Tim May: Crypto Anarchist ManifestoAnd Satoshi Nakamoto: Bitcoin
— Crypto Leroy (@TheBitLeroy) June 27, 2020
The Bitcoin’s timestamp server ensures the timestamping of a hash of transaction blocks once they are added to the blockchain. The hashes connect one block to another cryptographically to maintain the integrity and transparency of Bitcoin data or records.
Through timestamping, Bitcoin eliminates double spending and ensures the network’s immutability. While implementing the BTC timestamp, Nakamoto referenced work from Scott Stornetta, Henri Massias, Dave Bayer, and Stuart Haber.
Additionally, the BTC founder incorporated Merkle trees on Bitcoin to ensure the verification of transaction data via digital signatures. Nakamoto cited the work of Ralph Merkle on building public-key cryptosystems for such inclusion.
Over the years, BTC has become the primary crypto asset and most-used asset for real-life transactions.
Notably, Laszlo Hanyecz was the first to use BTC in May 2010 when he paid 10,000 BTC for two pizzas. With the increased adoption of Bitcoin, El Salvador made BTC a legal tender in the country in 2021.
Also, several businesses now accept BTC for payment of goods and services worldwide.