The emergence of what we now know as digital currencies (or cryptocurrencies) began in 2009, and it all began with the launch of Bitcoin, the first digital currency. Bitcoin was originally proposed as an electronic payment system based on cryptographic proof.
Cryptographic proof came from the emerging technology of blockchain – a type of list of digital signatures that provides mathematical proofs describing the entire transaction history of each bitcoin.
This publicly owned chain allows for peer-to-peer (Peer-To-Peer) transactions, without any need to entrust a third party with the task of processing the payment. The lack of need for any type of third party acting in a supervisory role means that Bitcoin is a decentralized digital currency. In 2009, some market commentators dismissed this new digital currency as a mere fad, a transitional response to the subprime mortgage crisis that had set the global economy back in 2008.
But as Bitcoin has increased in value and credibility over the years, interest in this new type of digital currency - and the technological framework on which it is based - has boomed. As more investors have embraced Bitcoin over the years, its value has risen, which in turn has increased interest in this asset class as a whole. This has led to an amazing increase in its value and fluctuations in its prices.
As a result of all this, a large number of alternative cryptocurrencies have arrived on the scene (and in some cases left just as quickly), based on the innovation of blockchain or such similar concepts. In early 2016, the total value of all cryptocurrencies was estimated at around $8 billion; By March 2017, this number had risen to about $25 billion, and five years later in 2022 the number had doubled, bringing the global market value of digital currencies to $2 trillion!
Cryptographic proof came from the emerging technology of blockchain – a type of list of digital signatures that provides mathematical proofs describing the entire transaction history of each bitcoin.
This publicly owned chain allows for peer-to-peer (Peer-To-Peer) transactions, without any need to entrust a third party with the task of processing the payment. The lack of need for any type of third party acting in a supervisory role means that Bitcoin is a decentralized digital currency. In 2009, some market commentators dismissed this new digital currency as a mere fad, a transitional response to the subprime mortgage crisis that had set the global economy back in 2008.
But as Bitcoin has increased in value and credibility over the years, interest in this new type of digital currency - and the technological framework on which it is based - has boomed. As more investors have embraced Bitcoin over the years, its value has risen, which in turn has increased interest in this asset class as a whole. This has led to an amazing increase in its value and fluctuations in its prices.
As a result of all this, a large number of alternative cryptocurrencies have arrived on the scene (and in some cases left just as quickly), based on the innovation of blockchain or such similar concepts. In early 2016, the total value of all cryptocurrencies was estimated at around $8 billion; By March 2017, this number had risen to about $25 billion, and five years later in 2022 the number had doubled, bringing the global market value of digital currencies to $2 trillion!