Bitcoin’s White Paper Turns 13
A pseudonymous creator dubbed Satoshi Nakamoto developed the concept of Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) in a white paper titled “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash” precisely 13 years ago and everything you need to know about this paper is outlined below…
On October 31, 2008, a white paper was sent to a mailing list on metzdowd.com.
“I’ve been working on the new electronic currency system that’s totally peer-to-peer, without any trusted third party,” Nakamoto said in one of the now-deleted posts.
At the time, Nakamoto also released a URL to the publication, which can still be viewed in 2021.
The study was released at a time when the global economic crisis was wreaking havoc on the economy.
In fact, a statement from Times newspaper appears in Bitcoin’s genesis block: “Chancellor On Brink Of Another Bailout For Banks.”
The White Paper’s Importance:
The white paper’s significance stems from the belief that it was written long before Bitcoin software version 0.1 was posted on Source Forge (January 9, 2009).
Nakamoto’s views on the first blockchain and Bitcoin’s underlying proof-of-work concept were also discussed in the paper.
“When a transaction is hashed into a chain of hash-based proof, the network creates a history that can’t be changed without rerunning the proof-of-work procedure.”
The development of such a trustless network was proposed as one of the primary aspects and an issue that the whitepaper aimed to answer. The Bitcoin ecosystem of today is built on this basis.
“Rather than relying on trust, an electronic payment processing mechanism with key cryptographic evidence is necessary, allowing any two consenting individuals to connect directly without the involvement of a third party,” said Nakamoto at the time.
Bitcoin was also characterized by Nakamoto as a “chain of digital signatures.” Each coin’s owner passes it onto the next by validating a hash of a previous block and the future owner’s public key and adding them to the coin’s end. This is a verified procedure.
Double Expenditure No Longer a Problem:
The white paper addressed the issue of double-spending. This essentially creates a method for a recipient to determine whether the former owner of the coin signed any prior transactions.
As per Nakamoto, “The only way to verify the lack of activity is to be made aware of all transactions, which is the only way to certify the absence of activity.”
As a result, transactions must be “publicly reported” in order to avoid duplicate spending without the need of an intermediary such as a commercial bank or other trusted person, according to Nakamoto.
As the researcher points out, “we need a system that allows participants to decide on a history of how they were treated.” Payment must only be made if the payee can establish that the vast majority of networks accept that the transactions were received by them for the very first time at the time of payment.”
In the whitepaper, Nakamoto goes into the technical details of Bitcoin, including a clock server. The Bitcoin founder also goes into the Proof-of-Work method, the coin’s network, and how it works in great detail. He also discussed mining incentives, privacy, and other aspects of the world’s first blockchain-based cryptocurrency.
The Aftermath:
Hal Finney, a programmer and early proponent of Bitcoin was the first to receive the bitcoin after the first block was mined. He received 10 BTC via Nakamoto, which is currently worth around $589,605.
As per a Wired storey, Nakamoto vanished from the Bitcoin environment in mid-2010 and was last seen in April 2011.
With a market value of over $1.1 trillion, Bitcoin is the most valuable cryptocurrency today. According to Investopedia, the price varied from $0.0008 to $0.08 when it initially started trading in July 2010. Since then, the coin has increased in value by approximately 7,400,000,000%.
Conclusion:
As the globe continues to battle with a worldwide pandemic, inflation worries, an incredible trend in meme coin mania, and increased institutional acceptance of the cryptocurrency field, the 13th anniversary of Bitcoin (BTC) whitepaper finally crept in.
