cryptocurrency and Blockchain as the new technology to back such
a currency. Within a year, Nakamoto released the first version of
Bitcoin in the market that was also associated with the first
implementation of the Blockchain so far. The first block called the
“Genesis Block” was added to the Blockchain network on 3rd
January 2009, and the first Bitcoin transaction happened on 12th
January 2009. By year 2010, Satoshi vanished from the scene totally
stopping his involvement in the associated activities. The price of the
Bitcoin as well as the demand of the Blockchain as a technology,
however, never looked back. In just over a decade, Bitcoin has
observed exponential growth from zero to roughly $2+ trillion which
is approximately 0.5% of the global wealth. The person behind the
name, Satoshi Nakamoto, the father of Bitcoin, still remains a
mystery. Was he a man, a woman, a group of people, an alien, or
even a time traveller from the future, who gifted us this superior
technology, and then simply vanished? The genius always prefers to
stay away from the limelight, or does he?
1.4 Bitcoin vs. Previous Generation Electronic
Money
Bitcoin is not the first digital money, nor will it be the last. Since the
1980s, many people have tried their hands on digital or electronic
currencies but have failed due to technical or regulatory reasons.
Organizations such as PayPal, eCash, WebMoney, Liberty Reserve,
Payoneer, cashU etc., tried to achieve similar results but through
centralized ecosystems which come with their own shortcomings
such as the following:
Possibility of mass hacking
Single point of failure
High transaction fees
What made Bitcoin a shining star in the space of electronic funds
transfer was its unique features. A few surprising benefits because of
which Bitcoin became a milestone in payments are as follows:
Immunity to Fraud