Update Oct. 31, 6:31 p.m. UTC: This article has been updated to include comments from Narek Gevorgyan, the founder and CEO of CoinStats.
Bitcoinโs foundational document turned 17, marking the journey of the worldโs first decentralized digital currency from a niche financial experiment to a $2 trillion global asset held by governments and institutions.
Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto first shared the Bitcoin white paper 17 years ago today, on Oct. 31, 2008, in response to the global financial crisis.
The document, titled โBitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System,โ described a decentralized, peer-to-peer network capable of preventing double-spending through proof-of-work (PoW) consensus.ย
Related: ETFs will usher institutions into altcoins, just like Bitcoin: Analyst
Three months after the white paper was published, Nakamoto launched the worldโs largest decentralized network by minting the first Bitcoin block, the genesis block, for a reward of 50 Bitcoin (BTC).
Seventeen years on, Bitcoin has grown into a multi-trillion-dollar asset, ranking as the worldโs eighth-most-valuable asset after silver and Amazon, according to data from CompaniesMarketCap.
Bitcoin grew to become one of the worldโs โmost influentialโ assets in this short timeframe, according to Narek Gevorgyan, the founder and CEO of crypto portfolio management platform CoinStats.
โSince then, weโve witnessed remarkable growth: institutional adoption, regulatory clarity, and millions of users discovering financial freedom through digital assets,โ he told Cointelegraph, adding:ย
โBitcoinโs journey symbolizes more than market capitalization; it represents a global movement toward transparency, ownership, and innovation.โ
Related: Arthur Hayes calls for $1M Bitcoin as new Japan PM orders economic stimulus
Bitcoin price faces its first red October in 7 years
Despite the milestone, Bitcoin is set to log its first monthly loss for October in seven years. BTC has fallen more than 3.5% this month, breaking a six-year streak of positive โUptoberโ performances, data from CoinGlass shows.
Historically, October, dubbed โUptober,โ has been Bitcoinโs second-strongest month, with average returns of 19.9%. The last time Bitcoin posted a loss for the month was in 2018, when it fell 3.8%
The record $19 billion crypto market crash saw Bitcoinโs price fall to a four-month low of $104,000 on Oct. 17.
Crypto analysts viewed the correction as a โcontrolled deleveraging,โ which was necessary to flush excess leverage from the markets and provide a more sustainable basis for the next leg up.
Magazine: Mysterious Mr Nakamoto author โ Finding Satoshi would hurt Bitcoin
