In 2008 many things were different from today: we still watched MTV because music videos were very important for the promotion of a song, TV series were not yet such an integral part of our daily lives (in the sense that we could ignore the conversation!), talent shows had not yet invaded Sanremo and so much more.
On top of that, no one had ever heard of Bitcoin, or cryptocurrencies in general.
Until, in January 2009, the first “block” of this currency was issued.
But let's proceed in order, without going into too much detail: in the following lines you will be able to recover all the stages that have made this currency what it is today, that is, a myth of finance.
A BIT OF HISTORY
It was August 2008 when an online domain was registered: bitcoin.org.
A lot of water has passed under the bridge since then until the currency's greatest success, achieved on December 17, 2017.
What happened on December 17, 2017, you ask? Simple: Bitcoin reached its record valuation on that date, a whopping 17.000 euros. Yes, you understood correctly: if you wanted to buy a Bitcoin on that date, this is the amount you would have had to shell out.
But let's proceed step by step.
January 3, 2009: The Bitcoin genesis block is released.
Number of pieces: 50.
Value: very low, approaching zero.
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A handful of days later, the first version of the software that will be responsible for generating this currency also comes to light.
Goal: Generate 40 million Bitcoins by 2040.
The first official historical transaction in cryptocurrency dates back to January 12th, which took place between the very mysterious Satoshi Nakamoto (main creator of Bitcoin) and Hal Finney, one of the developers and cryptographers who have been involved with the project since its inception. And how much did this currency cost at birth? The New Liberty Stardard estimates an exchange rate of 1,3 Bitcoin per dollar.
Okay, now let's imagine what the first investors found themselves with: just 20 of them would have been enough to become remarkably rich less than a decade later. Thinking about it makes our wrists tremble and we'd like to kick ourselves, but rest assured: you're definitely in good company, given that all the experts at the time were constantly raising doubts about the feasibility and wisdom of this operation.
The first to obtain Bitcoin, then, were the so-called “miners”: computer enthusiasts who, in exchange for the effort of writing parts of code useful (indeed, fundamental) for the creation and conservation of money, received coins.
A famous episode of The Big Bang Theory is about this: the four protagonists remember, once the value of Bitcoin exploded, that they had collaborated on writing the code and that they had some coins aside, a treasure that is now almost inestimable. As you can imagine, the episode does not go in the right direction, but this fun fact quickly makes us understand how much cryptocurrency was now on everyone's lips.
And today? Of course, at the moment buying Bitcoin seems prohibitive and really no longer convenient. But be careful, because there are now so many cryptocurrencies that it could be advantageous to try an investment in the most "popular": we are talking about Ethereum, Dash, Litecoin, Monero and many others.
If you are wondering what applications these coins could have in real life, don't worry: know that there are now many goods and services that can be purchased through this system.
Online and offline many businesses make this available to us as a payment method among the various accepted ones: just think about the new online casinos, with their colorful slots and their many tables (poker, baccarat or blackjack) at which you can pay using Bitcoin or Ethereum.
Not only that: there are now several physical stores that accept cryptocurrencies, with payments possible through special POS.
The future of these coins is bright: although we do not feel like giving the same opportunities to the successors of Bitcoin with respect to the huge success achieved by its progenitor, many of these names are destined to remain on the market and to yield decent sums of money for those who want to invest in them.
We, for our part, can only wish you this.
