Recently, I read Nathaniel Popper’s “Digital Gold” and gained a deeper understanding of the people and events in the early development of Bitcoin.
This book presents little-known stories of Bitcoin, each of which is backed by the supporters and promoters of early Bitcoin, without which Bitcoin might not have gotten where it is today.
Digital Gold
At the end of 2008, Satoshi Nakamoto released the “Bitcoin White Paper”, and the concept of Bitcoin was proposed, and in 2009, the first version of the Bitcoin software was released, which opened a new era of cryptocurrency.
Among the early supporters, Howl, Madi, and Gavin were all promoters, and after reading the Bitcoin white paper, they were moved by the concept, and supported the development of Bitcoin with their actions, and introduced Bitcoin to more people.
Hal was the first person to assist Satoshi Nakamoto in testing Bitcoin mining software, and also gave Satoshi Nakamoto a lot of support and advice, and was the first in the cypherpunk group to support Satoshi Nakamoto.
Madi operates the Bitcoin website, allowing more people to have a way and window to contact and understand Bitcoin, and Gavin optimizes and improves the source code of Bitcoin, so that Bitcoin can operate more safely and stably.
Laszlo optimized the Bitcoin GPU mining method, mined a large amount of BTC, and was the first person to exchange 1w bitcoins for 2 pizzas, so that the value of bitcoin could be converted from virtual to real.
Laszlo bought 2 pizzas for 10,000 BTC
Jade founded Mt.Gox, Mark continues to promote the development of Mt.Gox, attracting a large number of users, driving up Bitcoin trading volume, lowering the barrier to participation in Bitcoin, and also being able to understand the real-time price of Bitcoin through Mt.Gox, and track market fluctuations and changes.
Ross founded the “Silk Road” to allow Bitcoin to circulate and trade, and the Silk Road website was eventually banned, but inspired more people to explore the correct value application and consumption scenarios of Bitcoin;
Early participants worked together to promote the development of Bitcoin, organized several offline gatherings to discuss the basic application and implementation of Bitcoin, and pushed the cryptocurrency from a few people to more and expand the user base of Bitcoin.
In the early days, there were also some tech tycoons, Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, and even Wall Street old money, who invested in Bitcoin and Bitcoin-related projects.
Buying $25,000 in 2011 can get more than 13,000 bitcoins, which can increase the price by 75%, from $1.89 to $3.3, and there is huge room for appreciation in the early investment.
When Mt.Gox was unable to withdraw, the user blocked Mark and wanted an explanation
Early participants cheered when Bitcoin’s market cap first topped $1 billion in 2013, when the Bitcoin support price was only $91.26.
2013 is known as the first year of Bitcoin in China, and Bitcoin began to take root in the domestic market.
That year, Yang Linke and Huang Xiaoyu co-founded Bitcoin China, where users can buy BTC in a simple way, and then Li Qiyuan invested in Bitcoin China, driving the growth and development of Bitcoin China.
Chinese players have a relatively convenient way to buy BTC, and although the audience is very small, they have also begun to discuss and follow.
In 2014, Guangdong Satellite TV showed “Bitcoin Truth”, inviting economists and early Bitcoin participants to discuss Bitcoin.
On the show, Li Qiyuan introduced Bitcoin and Satoshi Nakamoto to the public, and believed that BTC will continue to develop;
Economist Lang Xianping scoffed at the value of BTC, completely disdainful of Bitcoin, believing that BTC was just worthless air, and also published a sentence that has been circulated to this day: “If you give me Bitcoin, I won’t ask for it”, I don’t know if Mr. Lang has changed his opinion now.
Innovation and development are menacing, and what was looked down on at the time has not been able to climb up now. In the face of anything new, or really should be a little more open, don’t be beaten to death with a stick.
TV show “Bitcoin Truth”
A few days ago, a big guy in the group shared a screenshot of the Chinese Bitcoin exchange group created in 2013.
These Chinese bigwigs, who came into contact with Bitcoin 10 years ago, don’t know if they are still active in the market, whether they have accumulated a lot of wealth, or have founded many applications and businesses in the crypto market.
The early market grew savagely, the cost of trial and error was lower, and of course it could fail, but the few who grasped it, got a huge opportunity.
In 2013, he was the backbone player of China’s hardcore currency circle
The story of Digital Gold was only written to 2014. **
At that time, Mt. Gox was hacked and 650,000 BTC was stolen, and some countries issued bitcoin risk notices, clearly stating that bitcoin does not have legal tender status and cannot be circulated as legal tender in the market, and the price of BTC plummeted.
The development of bitcoin is in confusion again, with ups and downs, ups and downs, and there is a risk of going to zero at any time.
In 2017, the Bitcoin bull market returned, Bitcoin broke through the $20,000 mark, and then entered a bear market that lasted for 3 years.
In 2021, the bull returned again, and the price of Bitcoin broke through new highs again, rising to an all-time high of $69k, and then entered a bear market again. The price of Bitcoin in 2023 is now fluctuating at $37k, and the next trend remains to be promoted and innovated by this group of people in the current market.
What will happen to BTC in 10 years?**
It has been 14 years since the first bitcoin was mined in 2009, and the price of bitcoin has increased from the initial mining cost of $0.001 to more than $37,000 now, an increase of 37 million times.
The BTC market has gone through many historical moments when it has almost zeroed out, as well as moments when it was ridiculed and ridiculed when introduced to the mainstream media and the general public, but Bitcoin has persevered until now.
No one can simply predict how BTC will develop in the future, but there are always opportunities, and at the same time, there are huge risks.
Faith and speculation are driving Bitcoin at the same time, and we are also in the torrent of the times, wishing us all a bright crypto future.
The above is only a personal opinion and does not constitute investment advice. I’m Chuxiaolian, and I’m following the crypto market and web3.
