Blockchain

Was Bitcoin The First Blockchain?

How would we have known that we will suddenly one day emerge in an era governed by digital currencies? But today if we open our eyes to the realities of our times, all we see is an economy that has undergone the saturation of cryptocurrencies. This decentralized form of currency is all the rage right about now and people in the investment market are going crazy over this. 

But with all this talk about cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin would have certainly popped in your head, it being the largest cryptocurrency ever. Today, it would be like living under a rock if you do not know about Bitcoin. It is one of the first cryptocurrencies to ever exist. But the question is, was it the first blockchain? Let’s find out. 

The Origin Story Of Bitcoin 

It all started in the year 2009 when a programmer or a group of them initiated the project under a nom de plume Santoshi Nakamoto. And the rest is history. Bitcoin ushered in an era of a decentralized economy guided by blockchains. The whitepaper of Santoshi that touches upon Bitcoin also mentions the blockchain technological concept by saying that, “the network timestamps transactions by hashing them into an ongoing chain of hash-based proof-of-work, forming a record that cannot be changed without redoing the proof-of-work.”

There is no doubt that bitcoin was the pioneer of revolutionizing the crypto market with its unique vision. But does it really hold the title of being the very first blockchain network? 

Blinded Cash

Blinded cash was another form of a digital currency set out around the same time as Bitcoin in America by David Chaum. This was in the form of a token that can be exchanged by people in a private space. The encryption was created through a “blinding formula” as they call it. It was supposed to be untraceable and would come with a mark of authenticity. Chaum invented DigiCash for this purpose but bankruptcy put a halt to this project. 

Money Based In Web

We are talking of the 1990s here when many bright minds were trying to move towards a web-based money transference. One of the successful ones was PayPal. Paypal made it possible to exchange money through the web. And by establishing a loyal customer base PayPal’s golden days began. 

B Money 

Another form of online currency was the B Money founded by Wei Dei in the year 1998. He proposed an electronic cash system that was supposed to be anonymous. There were two different protocols involved in the process. One was a broadcast channel that couldn’t be jammed and allowed synchronization. But again, it wasn’t as successful as Bitcoin. 

Summing It Up 

There are several other projects that didn’t reach the height of success as Bitcoin did including Hashcash and B Gold among others. Nevertheless, it paved the way for bitcoin in a way.

If you are interested in learning more about Bitcoin and the blockchain network, click here

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