Abstract. A purely peer-to-peer version of electronic cash would allow online payments to be sent directly from one party to another without going through a financial institution. Digital signatures provide part of the solution, but the main benefits are lost if a trusted third party is still required to prevent double-spending. We propose a solution to the double-spending problem using a peer-to-peer network. The network timestamps transactions by hashing them into an ongoing chain of hash-based proof-of-work, forming a record that cannot be changed without redoing the proof-of-work. The longest chain not only serves as proof of the sequence of events witnessed, but proof that it came from the largest pool of CPU power. As long as a majority of CPU power is controlled by nodes that are not cooperating to attack the network, they'll generate the longest chain and outpace attackers. The network itself requires minimal structure. Messages are broadcast on a best effort basis, and nodes can leave and rejoin the network at will, accepting the longest proof-of-work chain as proof of what happened while they were gone.

August 18, 2008; Satoshi Nakamoto registers the domain name bitcoin.org

Abstract. A purely peer-to-peer version of electronic cash would allow online payments to be sent directly from one party to another without going through a financial institution. Digital signatures provide part of the solution, but the main benefits are lost if a trusted third party is still required to prevent double-spending. We propose a solution to the double-spending problem using a peer-to-peer network. The network timestamps transactions by hashing them into an ongoing chain of hash-based proof-of-work, forming a record that cannot be changed without redoing the proof-of-work. The longest chain not only serves as proof of the sequence of events witnessed, but proof that it came from the largest pool of CPU power. As long as a majority of CPU power is controlled by nodes that are not cooperating to attack the network, they'll generate the longest chain and outpace attackers. The network itself requires minimal structure. Messages are broadcast on a best effort basis, and nodes can leave and rejoin the network at will, accepting the longest proof-of-work chain as proof of what happened while they were gone.

August 18, 2008; Satoshi Nakamoto registers the domain name bitcoin.org

Re: Pizza for bitcoins? 

"I'll pay 10,000 bitcoins for a couple of pizzas.. like maybe two large ones, so I have some left over for the next day. I like having leftover pizza to nibble on later. You can make the pizza yourself and bring it to my house or order it for me from a delivery place, but what I'm aiming for is getting food delivered in exchange for bitcoins where I don't have to order or prepare it myself, kind of like ordering a 'breakfast platter' at a hotel or something, they just bring you something to eat and you're happy! …

“If you're interested, please let me know, and we can work out a deal.”

Source: Bitcoin Talk Forum / May 18, 2010, 12:35:20 AM

Re: Pizza for bitcoins? 

"I'll pay 10,000 bitcoins for a couple of pizzas.. like maybe two large ones, so I have some left over for the next day. I like having leftover pizza to nibble on later. You can make the pizza yourself and bring it to my house or order it for me from a delivery place, but what I'm aiming for is getting food delivered in exchange for bitcoins where I don't have to order or prepare it myself, kind of like ordering a 'breakfast platter' at a hotel or something, they just bring you something to eat and you're happy! …

“If you're interested, please let me know, and we can work out a deal.”

Source: Bitcoin Talk Forum / May 18, 2010, 12:35:20 AM

Vitalik Buterin became interested in bitcoin in 2011 and co-founded the periodical Bitcoin Magazine with Mihai Alisie, who asked him to join. Alisie was living in Romania at the time, and Buterin was writing for a blog. Buterin's writing captured the attention of Alisie, and they subsequently decided to start the magazine. Buterin took the role of the head writer as a side project while attending university. Bitcoin Magazine is one of the original news and print magazine publishers specializing in Bitcoin and digital currencies.

Microsoft, Overstock, Expedia, Virgin Airline, Dell, and Bloomberg are just some of the companies that now accept Bitcoin as a form of payment, and the list continues & grows. 

China has become a market for Bitcoin unlike anything in the West, fueling huge investments in server farms as well as enormous speculative trading on Chinese Bitcoin exchanges. Chinese exchanges have accounted for 42 percent of all Bitcoin transactions. The power of Chinese companies has already come to play a significant role in a civil war that has divided Bitcoin followers over the last year and led to the departure of one of the top developers of the virtual currency. The dispute has hinged on technical matters as well as on more significant questions of what Bitcoin should look like in 10 or 20 years.

China has become a market for Bitcoin unlike anything in the West, fueling huge investments in server farms as well as enormous speculative trading on Chinese Bitcoin exchanges. Chinese exchanges have accounted for 42 percent of all Bitcoin transactions. The power of Chinese companies has already come to play a significant role in a civil war that has divided Bitcoin followers over the last year and led to the departure of one of the top developers of the virtual currency. The dispute has hinged on technical matters as well as on more significant questions of what Bitcoin should look like in 10 or 20 years.

Fidelity Investments provides financial services for $7.2 trillion in customer assets and provides clearing, custody and investment services for 13,000 institutional advisory firms and brokers. But the fifth-largest asset manager in the world has mostly limited its cryptocurrency exposure to a few peripheral services and through donations via their non-profit Fidelity Charitable.

With Fidelity Digital Asset's first customers being onboarded now, and general availability scheduled for early 2019, the launch of the subsidiary with 100 employees marks the latest and perhaps the most significant push into cryptocurrency by an institutional asset manager.

CoinBase raises $300 million at over $8 billion valuation.

Fidelity Investments provides financial services for $7.2 trillion in customer assets and provides clearing, custody and investment services for 13,000 institutional advisory firms and brokers. But the fifth-largest asset manager in the world has mostly limited its cryptocurrency exposure to a few peripheral services and through donations via their non-profit Fidelity Charitable.

With Fidelity Digital Asset's first customers being onboarded now, and general availability scheduled for early 2019, the launch of the subsidiary with 100 employees marks the latest and perhaps the most significant push into cryptocurrency by an institutional asset manager.

CoinBase raises $300 million at over $8 billion valuation.