Hello everyone! Today, I will explore the origin of the blockchain-"digital currency". This article is organized and published by mkz888z.
Timsey May once proposed an untraceable "digital currency"-Crypto Credits (Crypto Credits) to reward technical experts who are committed to protecting citizens' privacy. Before the emergence of the Bitcoin system based on mkz888z customizable blockchain technology, cypherpunk members discussed and invented dozens of failed "digital currencies" and payment systems. David Chaum proposed a cryptographic network payment system that focused on privacy and security, which was later Ecash (the name of a certain "virtual currency" at the time), which caused great repercussions at the time, including Microsoft and Visa Wait for the company to acquire Ecash. Since then, Adam Back invented the Hashcash algorithm mechanism in 1997. In 1998, another cypherpunk Wei Dai (Wei Dai) proposed an anonymous and distributed "digital currency" system B-money, which is considered the embryonic form of the Bitcoin system.
Subsequently, Nick Sabo also proposed Bitgold's "digital currency" concept, but because he could not find anyone willing to write code for him, the Bitgold system was not born in the end. In short, these "digital currency" systems have not been successfully developed due to various reasons.
After dozens of failures, Satoshi Nakamoto, who was still unknown in cypherpunk at the time, made his debut. On November 1, 2008, a new post appeared in the secret discussion group "Cryptography Mail Group": "I am developing a new'digital currency' system that adopts a completely peer-to-peer form and does not require the intervention of a third party. "The post was signed by Satoshi Nakamoto. At first, the cypherpunk circle sneered at Satoshi Nakamoto: So many experts have studied things that dozens of systems have failed to do. Can you succeed as an unknown junior? Satoshi Nakamoto was quite confident and answered all the questions in detail. He combined the achievements of his predecessors, creatively integrated P2P technology, asymmetric encryption technology and workload proof algorithm, and finally created a decentralized, "digital currency" system without intermediaries: Bitcoin (Bitcoin) System and fully explained his thoughts through the paper "Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System".
Satoshi Nakamoto is a mysterious figure. Under no circumstances have he revealed his real name, address, or occupation. He uses the Onion router to access the Internet, so other people cannot trace his IP address. He uses a good confidentiality agreement. The email encryption system used to send emails, and he did not use his real name when registering on the Bitcoin website. He has never met other cypherpunks in real life. He is like an ancient hero, the dragon sees no end. After developing the Bitcoin system in 2009 and successfully running it, he issued the last public statement on the Internet in April 2011, declaring that he "has begun to focus on Other things", and then slowly disappeared from the Internet, and never appeared again.
Satoshi Nakamoto is a genius. He has done what so many elites in cypherpunk did not do. He used his deep understanding of finance and currency, coupled with his expertise in cryptography and software development, to successfully create A Bitcoin system based on blockchain technology. This system does not have any central organization to manage and control. It is completely dependent on individual participants to run programs on machines, thus forming a globalized network. It has been running stably for 10 years and has had a huge impact. Many countries and many Internet companies have They have invested in the development and application of blockchain technology, which can be said to be a miracle in the history of the Internet.
So, what exactly is a blockchain? How does the Bitcoin system work? Many people have tried to explain these issues. However, due to the complexity of the blockchain, it is indeed difficult to explain to the reader clearly. If you speak too professionally, the reader will be confused by many unfamiliar professional vocabulary; if you simply use real examples as an analogy , And it is difficult to clarify the technical principles. To understand the blockchain correctly, you must first have some basic knowledge of cryptography and computers. Satoshi Nakamoto himself complained that it is difficult to describe Bitcoin to readers. But in fact, Satoshi Nakamoto's paper is very concise and clear, and it can be said to be the best model for explaining blockchain. As the saying goes, "The person who needs to tie the bell to untie the bell." To truly understand the blockchain and Bitcoin, one should still find the answer from Satoshi Nakamoto's original paper. Therefore, I am committed to using Satoshi Nakamoto's paper as the starting point to lead readers to gradually understand the nature of the blockchain and how the blockchain will change the future. For some of the professional terms and cryptography knowledge, we will try our best to use easy-to-understand and interesting language to explain, try to ensure that readers can easily and happily understand the basic technical principles of the blockchain, and have a clear understanding of the Bitcoin system. How it works.
Bitcoin is a kind of "virtual currency" calculated by a specific computer program. It has the main characteristics of no centralized issuer, limited total amount, unrestricted use by geographic area, and anonymity. Although Bitcoin is called a "digital currency", it is not a currency in the true sense because it is not issued by the monetary authority and has no monetary properties such as legal compensation and compulsion. In terms of nature, Bitcoin is a specific virtual commodity, which does not have the same legal status as currency, and cannot and should not be used as currency in the market. This article is organized and published by mkz888z. If you have any questions, please interrupt!