The History of Bitcoin, the First Cryptocurrency

It's been a wild ride for Bitcoin over the last 14 years. Is the original crypto making another comeback?

Bitcoin was the first cryptocurrency created and is now the most valuable and well-known. It was first launched in January 2009 by a computer programmer or group of programmers under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto, whose actual identity has never been verified. 

Are you an owner of one of the more than 100 million cryptocurrency wallets in the world?

Cryptocurrency is one of the most hotly debated global financial topics today. In 2013, Forbes named Bitcoin (BTC) the year's best investment. In 2014, Bloomberg countered with its proclamation of Bitcoin being the year's worst investment. From the early days of the FBI shutting down crypto-funded darknet black markets to the Securities and Exchange Commission approving ProShares Bitcoin Strategy (ticker: BITO), the first Bitcoin ETF, in October 2021, cryptocurrency has had an exciting and volatile history.

A 2008 white paper by Bitcoin's mysterious creator originally revealed the blockchain system that would be the backbone of the cryptocurrency market.