The History of Bitcoin
Allow me to guide you through the history of Bitcoin, from its origins in the 1970s to its skyrocketing value today and uncertain future.
In early May 2021, a single Bitcoin is worth about $55,000. According to CNBC, if you had invested $100 in Bitcoin in its beginning over a decade ago, you would have been able to buy a thousand Bitcoins. At time of writing, those would be now worth over $55 million. Long before Bitcoin blew up, though, it was simply a theoretical concept in an academic paper, published by an anonymous person using a pseudonym. Read on for a brief history of Bitcoin, from its origins in the 1970s to the influence of the 2008 financial crisis, to the recent massive expansion of cryptocurrency and the non-fungible token craze taking over the internet world today. It's a tale of mystery, mistrust, risk, and reward .
-But What is Bitcoin?
First things first: what exactly is Bitcoin? Bitcoin is a form of digital cash (cryptocurrency) in which unit transactions are recorded on a digital ledger called a "blockchain." It started as an idea in a white paper in 2008, and in 2021 became the best-performing asset of the last decade with its 9,000,000% rise. You can't actually hold a Bitcoin in your hand, but you can make a ton of money off of one. Why would someone want to buy Bitcoin in the first place? Allow me to explain.
-Why Bitcoin?
Bitcoin doesn't involve any bank or government; it's peer-to-peer currency. Unlike the American dollar or any other country's currency, Bitcoin is not regulated or underwritten by any one government. With Mastercard and other noteworthy companies bringing cryptocurrency onto their networks, many are asking: does this shift signal the beginning of the end for the dollar?.
-How does Bitcoin work?
Since the 1980s, people have experimented with creating forms of digital money. For years, however, no one could figure out how to solve digital cash's "double-spend" problem. Blockchain technology solves this problem, as it serves as a public record of who owns what. It prevents people from spending the same token twice.
-Money in the Digital Mattress
Owning Bitcoin is a little like stuffing your money under your mattress (if your mattress were a network of millions of computers all over the world keeping watch over your cash). Because you don't have to count on middlemen in the same way you do when your money is in the bank, you're not putting your trust in a single government or company. Mistrust of banks was one of the key contextual elements of the beginning of Bitcoin, as it started in the midst of the 2008 financial crisis.
-What is Blockchain Technology?
Blockchain technology refers to a decentralized network of millions of computers around the world. Though this may conjure up images of mysterious tech experts operating secretively on laptops, actual humans are not hunched over these computers, physically writing in transactions on the digital ledger. Rather, the computers are programmed to autonomously solve complex mathematical puzzles in order to verify transactions on the ledger. The Bitcoin network verifies them. The founder of Bitcoin, Satashi Nakomoto, created digital scarcity, so that only a certain number of bitcoins can be mined each year. This seems cool, but there's a downside to all this mining: the environmental impact.
-Environmental Impact Debate ?
There is an ongoing debate about the energy consumption and environmental impact of Bitcoin mining. According to Cambridge research, Bitcoin mining accounts for roughly 0.6% of global electricity consumption, meaning that the Bitcoin economy has the carbon dioxide emissions of a small country. Critics argue that cryptocurrency's energy use makes it an irresponsible (and even morally reprehensible) venture.
-Bitcoin Mining Hardware
Supporters argue that Bitcoin's energy usage is comparable to the currency systems already in place throughout the world, and that all money takes significant energy but Bitcoin provides an opportunity to shift the type of energy being used.
However the topic is still a great issue in many countries and some countries even ban mining of Bitcoin as for the concern of the environment.
-Where it all began ?
In 2000s: The Mysterious Satoshi Nakomoto.
Bitcoin began as a white paper, "Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System," published by someone using the name Satoshi Nakamoto on October 31st, 2008. The paper outlined the blockchain technology underpinning the cryptocurrency, solving the double-spend problem of digital cash. In March 2014, a Newsweek article called “The Face Behind Bitcoin" claimed that Bitcoin's inventor was a retired physicist named Dorian Nakamoto (pictured).
However ,Dorian Nakomoto has denied the claims that he is the creator of Bitcoin. In 2016, Australian computer scientist Craig Wright claimed that he was Satoshi. This claim has been disputed by many, as Wright has no concrete proof. Wright, however, is currently suing bitcoin.org, claiming copyright over the white paper that they currently host a copy of online. The lawsuit is ongoing, and the real inventor of Bitcoin remains unknown today. Quite an enigma right !
-Bitcoin, Crime, and Illegal Drugs
You see , Bitcoin and other crypto currency run on blockchain and it becomes hard to keep track of the real culprit doing a transaction . This very swiftness of blockchain technology makes it easier for criminal activities to take place because there is no law as such regulating crypto currency.
- Why Bitcoin top the list
It is no wonder why Bitcoin surpassed other cryto currency . First things is that , Bitcoin is very rare ,only 21 million Bitcoin are to produce . This makes a sense of value in the mind if people. And secondly , the transaction by Bitcoin is fast and reliable .
Also ever since Elon Musk play a Twitter game, the value surged many fold. Now Bitcoin has become a very hot topic of conversation among the investor when it comes to investing in Crypto currency.
- Current Scenario .
Today the total Market Capital of Bitcoin is 1.149 Trillion USD.
EL Salvador legalized the used of Bitcoin as thier official currency apart from their Fiat money.
- What is the Future of Bitcoin?
To be very honest, it's quite a very volatile subject to discuss . No one ever thought that Bitcoin , a digital code would be worth thousands and thousands of Dollars. If we were to look a decades ago and analysis the coming decades , maybe or may not be , Bitcoin will be valued at 500,000 USD . Yes , a 100 times increase. That could happen we never knows .
Disclaimer : I am not a cryto expert.please do your own research before investing.
Thank you