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Bitcoin was invented in 2008 by an anonymous person or group of people who went by the alias “Satoshi Nakamoto.” Bitcoin’s origins may be traced back to a paper titled “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System” published in October 2008 by Nakamoto. The paper detailed a new decentralized electronic cash system that would not be controlled by any central authority and would allow for secure transactions between individuals without the need for intermediaries such as banks.
The first Bitcoin transaction occurred in January 2009, when Nakamoto paid 10 Bitcoins to Hal Finney, a developer. Since then, Bitcoin has increased in popularity and value, becoming the world’s most extensively used cryptocurrency.
Several reasons have contributed to Bitcoin’s meteoric ascension to worldwide phenomenon. One of the most important aspects is its decentralized nature, which enables peer-to-peer transactions without the use of intermediaries. This has attracted many who value anonymity and security to Bitcoin, making it a popular instrument for online purchases and international money transfers.
The limited supply of Bitcoin has also contributed to its popularity. Because there can only ever be 21 million Bitcoins, the currency is not subject to inflation in the same way that fiat currencies are.
The popularity of Bitcoin has also resulted in the emergence of multiple forks, which are different versions of the original Bitcoin protocol. Among the most famous Bitcoin forks are:
Introduced in 2017, Bitcoin Cash was a Bitcoin hard fork that expanded the block size limit from 1MB to 8MB, enabling for speedier transactions and lower fees.
Created in 2017, Bitcoin Gold was a hard fork of Bitcoin that attempted to make mining more accessible to ordinary users by employing an alternative mining algorithm that could be mined with consumer-grade hardware.
Launched in 2018, Bitcoin SV was a hard fork of Bitcoin Cash with the goal of increasing the block size limit even higher, to 128MB, and restoring the original Bitcoin protocol as stated in Satoshi Nakamoto’s whitepaper.
The goal of these forks varies, but they all try to correct perceived flaws in the original Bitcoin protocol or to establish a new cryptocurrency with different features or use cases. However, forks are contentious in the bitcoin ecosystem because they might cause a schism and uncertainty among users.