BITCOIN'S 10 YEAR ANNIVERSARY - 03 January 2019

By Darcy Butcher | Pacific Rim International | Crypto News 03 January 2019

FIRST EVER BITCOIN BLOCK BITCOIN

The very first Bitcoin block, known as block #0, was added to the blockchain ten years ago on January 3, 2009. This transaction, known as genesis block, marked the beginning of the Bitcoin blockchain.

In November of 2011 the first block halving occurred. The block reward for Bitcoin became 25 BTC. Bitcoin halved again in 2016 and now sits at its current reward of 12.5 BTC. The next halving is projected to occur in 2020 which will bring the reward to 6.25 per block.

BITCOIN'S FIRST TRANSACTION

A programmer is believed to have made the first physical Bitcoin transaction in May of 2010 to purchase two pizzas. Until that time Bitcoin had been used to send money P2P, for online services and goods and in experimental processes. Laszlo Hanyecz, a Florida programmer, offered 10,000 bitcoins in exchange for pizza. A interested enthusiast took Hanyecz up on his offer, ordered the two pizzas to be delivered to Hanyecz on his credit card. Hanyecz reimbursed the purchase with 10,000 bitcoins. To this day May 22 is celebrated in the community as Bitcoin Pizza Day.

At this time the block reward for miners was at 50 BTC. This is the reward rate for successful confirmation of Bitcoin transactions. Bitcoin has a maximum supply of some 21 million units in which the block reward halves every 280,000 blocks. This process regulates the rate in which Bitcoin will hit its maximum market cap. As Bitcoin is bought, mined it becomes more scarce over time and also services as a store of value.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF BITCOIN

The white paper which describes and outlines Bitcoin was first available in October of 2008. Satoshi Nakamoto, an anonymous person or group, published the white paper with the design emphasis based on BTC existing independence of their creators. Furthermore a primary focus was for Bitcoin to be independent and operate beyond the necessity of relying on banks, and other financial institutions.

Nakamoto created solutions for online payments wherein transaction are recored on a public ledger and the task of verification is divided among network participants. Such payments are immutable or without risk of duplicate transactions occurring These transactions are added to the chain in blocks, which are then verified by network participants known as miners.

It is believed that Satoshi Nakamoto, a person or group using this pseudonym name, created Bitcoin partially in response to the 2008 financial crisis. Lehman Brothers Holdings, then the fourth largest investment bank globally filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in September of 2008. The failing financial infrastructure coincided with the domain register of bitcoin.org.

THE SECRET MESSAGE IN GENESIS BLOCK

At the time genesis block was created 50 BTC was held and remain unspeakable. A hidden text which reads "03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks" referenced thebanking sector news event which was reported in the UK Times. It references Chancellor Alistair Darling consideration of a second bailout for banks that were in the midst of a financial crisis.

The first Bitcoin block creation was verified on January 3, 2009 by including this headline in which many surmise Nakamoto included to as a critique of the financial institutions and that contributed to the economic disaster. Most BTC advocates continue to view Bitcoin as a decentralized alternative to financial institutions that have historically controlled the global economy.

BITCOIN AN UNPRECEDENTED CHAPTER

Bitcoin rise as both a currency and a speculative asset is a unique global occurrence in which intrinsic and tangible value and at time of writing is held by less than 2% of the worlds population. On December 17, 2018 Bitcoin exceeded expectations by skyrocketing to its all time record high of $19,783.21. Not only is it a store of value, it is increasingly used as a medium of exchange by individuals and merchants worldwide.

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