Satoshi Nakamoto Released Bitcoin White Paper 15 Years Ago Today

• Satoshi Nakamoto released the Bitcoin whitepaper on this day 15 years ago. 
• The white paper marked the first mention of Bitcoin in the public spectrum. 
• Bitcoin has soared a staggering 5261294.92% since its launch and has seen massive adoption.

Today, October 31st, marks the 15th anniversary of Satoshi Nakamoto’s release of the Bitcoin white paper. The white paper release marked the first time the digital asset was mentioned publicly.

The anonymous creator, on October 31, 2008, released the white paper titled “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System.” The release came at a time when the world was recovering from a global collapse and growing resentment towards centralized authorities and institutions. 

In the white paper, Satoshi described Bitcoin as a cash system that overrides centralized control. Additionally, he said the digital asset allows users to execute transactions publicly. 

Three months after the release of the white paper, the first Bitcoin transaction took place in January 2009 after programmer Hal Finney received ten bitcoins from Nakamoto. Following mainstream attention around Bitcoin, it effectively paved the way for the rise of other digital assets and a wider Web3 ecosystem. 

Since its launch, Bitcoin has grown to become the fastest-ever-growing asset in human history. Data from CoinMarketCap shows that the token grew a staggering 55261294.92% since its launch. At the time of press, the token is exchanging hands at $34,169.96.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin’s adoption has grown over the years. This year, large financial institutions took a dive into digital assets, with many applying to launch a spot Bitcoin ETF. The approval of a spot BTC ETF, many believe, will give customers outside of the crypto ecosystem exposure to the asset. 

Elsewhere, Bitcoin continues to maintain its dominance as the largest cryptocurrency network. The digital asset has a market cap of $671 billion, over $400 billion more than the second-largest cryptocurrency Ethereum. 

Despite the successes of the cryptocurrency, the true identity of Satoshi Nakamoto remains unknown. More surprisingly, the over 1 million Bitcoin tokens in the creator’s wallet remain unmoved, even when the token peaked at $65K apiece. At present, the tokens are worth over $34 billion.