Today is the 13th anniversary of the Bitcoin (BTC) white paper. In this document, the mysterious Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto shared his idea for a decentralized network to transmit value over the internet. And 13 years later, Bitcoin has grown into an asset class that is now discussed even at the highest levels in politics.
In the document Titled “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System,” Nakamoto writes in 2008 about a “peer-to-peer version of electronic cash” that allows value to be transferred “directly between parties without going through a financial service provider.” Transactions are processed on the basis of a proof-of-work (PoW) protocol using miners (nodes) performing complex calculations.
In addition, the stock of bitcoins is limited. There will never be more than 21 million bitcoins. Bitcoin is therefore also a scarce asset class. If we add everything together, we now see a robust network on which huge amounts are sent between parties. Bitcoin has also taken a place alongside gold as a safe-haven asset in which investors can protect their capital from the reach of government influences.
It also took a while before the Bitcoin network itself was launched. That was on January 3, 2009. At the time of its launch, bitcoin was worth less than a cent. But now bitcoin has risen above $60,000! And some say there’s a lot more to it. Bitcoin could completely revolutionize the global financial system.
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