- January 3, 2009 marked a significant milestone in the history of cryptocurrency as the Bitcoin main network was officially launched.
- Under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto, an individual or group mined the genesis block, which contained 50 BTC.
- An interesting fact about this block is that its hash includes the title of an article from The Times.
Fast forward to January 3, 2024, and we are celebrating the 15th anniversary of the Bitcoin main network, the first-ever cryptocurrency.
It was on this day that Satoshi Nakamoto, whose true identity remains a mystery, mined the first block of Bitcoin, known as the Genesis block, which held 50 BTC. Notably, the hash of this block contains a nod to The Times article titled “Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks.”
This article shed light on the challenges faced by the UK banking sector and the government’s efforts to find a solution. Some believe that Satoshi intentionally highlighted the vulnerability of the traditional finance industry through this choice, while others see it as an additional confirmation of the network’s launch date.
The first-ever transaction on the Bitcoin network took place on January 12, 2009. In this transaction, the cryptocurrency’s creator sent 10 BTC to Harold (Hal) Finney, an American programmer.
As of now, Bitcoin is trading at $45,078 with a market capitalization of $883 billion, according to TradingView.
It’s worth mentioning that the rate of Bitcoin surpassed $45,000 during the night of January 2, 2024, as we previously reported.