Bitcoin is 10 years old today

What began as an email chain between a bunch of cypherpunk’s has turned into one of the hottest technologies of our time, writes marketwatch.com.

„I’ve been working on a new electronic cash system that’s fully peer-to-peer, with no trusted third party”
Satoshi Nakamoto, Oct. 31, 2008, 06:10:00 PM.

That was the first email in a series of messages sent by Satoshi Nakamoto, the presumed pseudonym adopted by the creator of bitcoin, in a proposal for a payment system that is completely anonymous running on a decentralized distributed ledger, known as the blockchain.

Today, there are over 2,000 cryptocurrencies, most of which will fail and become worthless, according to Barry Silbert, chief executive officer of the Digital Currency Group, and there are already close to 1,000 dead coins, ones that either failed before launching or have ceased operation, according to a website that tracks such failures.

But the very first digital currency is still going strong, albeit with plenty of ups and downs. Once worth less than 1 cent, a single bitcoin fetched nearly $20,000 in December 2017. Today, one bitcoin BTCUSD, -0.22% changes hands for about $6,300.

While it has now well and truly entered the mainstream consciousness, there are still concerns that it has longevity, and could ultimately fail. Even Wences Casares, widely known as bitcoin’s „Patient Zero” for his role in spurring interest in crypto in Silicon Valley, expressed worries about its future.

„It may work, it might not work,” he told Bloomberg on Monday. He said the probability of success is still greater than failure. „We are in the equivalent of 1992 for the internet.”

Business Insider – here’s a look back at bitcoin crazy history.