Bitcoin is the cryptocurrency everyone and every exchange pines for. Since its first release back in 2013,
it has topped all of the crypto charts. It seems like everywhere you go, from shops to celebrities to
sports icons, they all are always talking about Bitcoin. But what made Bitcoin so valuable and flaming
hot? Come along as we navigate the fortune-studded history of Bitcoin and glimpse into its future.

Bitcoin and Its Humble Beginning

When Bitcoin had its first public ICO on exchanges, it was being sold for a $10 per coin! A $100
investment would have given you 10 Bitcoins. Those same 10 Bitcoins would be worth $20,129 per coin
at time of writing! Bitcoin was started anonymously by someone or a group called Satoshi Nakamoto. The first Bitcoin block mined was called “Genesis Block”. Since then, Bitcoin has exploded in value. Dating back to its ICO in 2012 on Coinbase and 2010 on smaller exchanges, it has an ROI of 14,729.91%. Making it one
of the highest ROI for a stock in existence. There is a treasured story among the Bitcoin community
called Pizza Day. A Florida man paid 10,000 Bitcoins for 2 Papa John’s large pizzas. The value of this trade
is marked at approximately $25 dollars. Those same 10,000 Bitcoins are now worth a value of $201,290,000 at time of writing. Pizza Day is celebrated on May 22 nd every year now by the Bitcoin community. Just who exactly is Satoshi Nakamoto the mastermind behind Bitcoin?

Will the Real Satoshi Please Stand up?

Satoshi Nakamoto is the undisputed owner and creator of Bitcoin. This name appeared on the original
whitepaper for Bitcoin back in 2008. Has anyone actually met him or stepped forward claiming to be this
historic Pioneer? There have been several instances of people “claiming they are Satoshi Nakamoto”. He
or they communicated strictly via email through the whole creation of Bitcoin. Email was the only known
contact method for him until he mysteriously vanished in 2010. His last email was a cryptic, “I am
moving on to other things”. There was a Dorian Nakamoto who was deemed the creator by Newsweek.
Newsweek’s article led to a real 64-year-old man in Japan named Satoshi Nakamoto but it was a mere
coincidence. Another character by the name of Hal Finney actually lived a few doors down from Dorian
and was extremely prominent in the early Bitcoin community. However, this was also just a coincidence. Nick Szabo was a quick blip on this radar due to his blog about Bitgold in 2005. This was quickly debunked. The latest was Craig Wright, an Australian Businessman and academic scholar. He has claimed publicly many times he was Satoshi. Even to the point of battling legal civil suits from former college David Kleiman. This case was recently closed in December 2021 stating, “That Wright owed nothing to the Kleiman’s and there was no proof they collaborated together on Bitcoin’s creation”. With the real Satoshi never coming to light, does this hurt Bitcoin’s future?

Bitcoin: Future Bright or Bleak?

Bitcoin’s infrastructure may need an update or 3 to keep pass with technology and make it more
appealing for mass adoption. The Taproot upgrade for Bitcoin may be this key. This upgrade will allow
for transactions to be batched. Why this is important is for speed of transactions. Having 
similar transactions grouped together and executing at the same time, this significantly decreases the time it takes to execute. Taproot would also increase the verification process to confirm the transaction was successful. Another key point is that it will be harder to discern who participated in the transaction as it combines single and multi-signature transactions. With multi-signature and single signature transactions grouped, it hides the users involved . A final tidbit is that this will begin to accelerate the reduction in mining as mining rewards decrease. By reducing mining fees, it reduces the energy consumption by the blockchain. This upgrade could be viewed similar to the Ethereum merge. With both chains heading towards a brighter future.

Exiting the Blockchain

Bitcoin is still the Gold Standard for all Cryptocurrencies in today’s market. It has continued to captivate investors and institutions alike. Just recently Fidelity and other brokers offered the first ever Bitcoin ETF Stock to be traded on. As mass adoption continues, crypto will slowly become integrated into our daily lives. Bitcoin is down nearly 65% from its previous ATH last year. Will that be enough of a nudge for you to take the plunge and own your own piece of Crypto gold?