When Bitcoin first came in 2009, it set the stone rolling for what has since become, as some now contend, the great economic status disrupter of recent decades.
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Beyond the skepticism and distrust by which re-known economists and financial establishments welcomed it, when it first came and for the first few years, Bitcoin has since made in-roads and into the mainstream of the financial industry.
This is owed, in large measure to the work of enthusiastic programmers and technologists who never got discouraged, adamant in the powerful potential they envisage in Bitcoin.
Now Bitcoin has hit the mainstream, the cryptocurrency industry is daily becoming popular, and in several aspect of day to life, taking over from where the traditional banking systems have ben previously used.
The most recent example is Verge, striking a partnership with Mindgeek (adult entertainment). Now clients of Pornhub, one of the biggest porn websites in the world will start making payments using verge. In one way, this is a significant step towards mass adoption of cryptos.
One can only predict that it won’t be long before cryptos take the place of fiat currency in the worlds social and commerce industries.
Overall, Bitcoin and the crypto industry in general, has made a great many strides since 1999, and is now very popular. This has most people thinking that the technology behind it is a recent invention.
Well, just know, far from being recent, the technology behind Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, actually existed long before we heard of Bitcoin. Yes. Block chain, the underlying technology which effectively combines cryptography and decentralized systems actually took several years of long and deep research.
So what was the build up to cryptocurrency, particularly to Bitcoin?
The story begins with the element of Cryptography, a key feature in the design of crypto currencies. Cryptography was a reserve of military and intelligence agencies, and until the late 1970’s, had its use restricted. Around the 70’s, the US government loosened its regulations on its use. This came to attract several developers to start and continue its development.
That was when David Chaum, who with foresight, would later fuel rapid progress in cryptography, came in. A computer scientist and adept cryptographer, Chaum, re-known for research in anonymous systems developed an anonymous electronic cash application ecash in 1983.
eCash was a blind signature, untraceable payment system in which one’s identity was separated from the transactions. This, plus several other cryptography protocals came to be the reference for anonymous communications research, and later, a motivation and inspiration for Cypherpunks cryptographic developments
Cyperpunks, a movement that was advocating for social and political change, demanding the use of strong cryptography for privacy and security would in the late 1980’s base their works on Chaum’s earlier research. It was not long before they made significant advances in crypto currency, with proof of work systems.
Suffice to add that Cypherpubk’s mailing list, started in 1992 comprised as many as 700 people so much that by the year 1995, breakthroughs in the field of cryptography and decentralized systems, started, championed by some of its members.
