Bitcoin

In January 2009, Bitcoin was launched as a decentralized cryptocurrency, originally detailed in a 2008 whitepaper by an individual or group under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto. This peer-to-peer digital currency enables direct transactions between equal, independent participants without requiring intermediaries. Nakamoto designed Bitcoin to facilitate “online payments to be sent directly from one party to another without going through a financial institution.” While earlier concepts for decentralized electronic currencies existed, Bitcoin is distinguished as the first cryptocurrency to achieve practical implementation.