In early 2009, the mysterious cryptocurrency developer (or team of developers) working under the alias Satoshi Nakamoto released the first software program that implemented the digital currency bitcoin. Since then, bitcoin has gone on to not only gain massive appeal across the globe but also to inspire hundreds of other digital currencies.Many of these cryptocurrencies make use of aspects that were already inherent in Satoshi's initial program and concept. Others take the bitcoin model and adapt or attempt to improve upon it. In some cases, bitcoin has spawned variations that are based on the same underlying concept and program but that are distinct from the original. In these situations, the bitcoin blockchain has undergone a process known as forking, through which the blockchain itself is divided into two distinct entities.It is through this forking process that various digital currencies with names similar to bitcoin have come to be: bitcoin cash, bitcoin gold, and others. For the casual cryptocurrency investor, it can be difficult to tell the difference between these cryptocurrencies and to map the various forks onto a timeline. Below, we'll walk through many of the most important forks to the bitcoin blockchain over the past several years