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A paper proposes internet cash
Writing under the name Satoshi Nakamoto, Bitcoin’s creator published a proposal for sending electronic cash directly between people. The challenge was to prevent someone from spending the same digital money twice without having a central company check every payment.
Read Satoshi’s original announcement → -
Bitcoin’s first block is created
The first entry in Bitcoin’s shared record is known as the Genesis Block. It contains a newspaper headline about a bank bailout. Five days later, Satoshi publicly announced the first release of the Bitcoin software.
See the first block →
Read the software announcement → -
Two pizzas, 10,000 bitcoin
Programmer Laszlo Hanyecz posted that he had traded 10,000 bitcoin for two pizzas. The deal became an early example of how people could use bitcoin to pay for something they wanted in everyday life.
Read the original pizza thread → -
Litecoin offers an early alternative
Charlie Lee introduced Litecoin, a separate cryptocurrency based on Bitcoin’s code. It aimed to create blocks more frequently, an early example of how developers could change the rules and launch a network of their own.
Read Litecoin’s launch thread → -
Ethereum puts apps on a blockchain
Ethereum launched a network where developers could deploy programs called smart contracts. A smart contract follows rules written in code. For example, it can send a digital token when the conditions written into it are met.
Explore Ethereum’s launch history → -
USDC brings a dollar-linked token to market
Circle and the CENTRE consortium introduced USDC. It’s a stablecoin, a type of token designed to track a reference asset. In this case the reference is the U.S. dollar, and the issuer’s ability to redeem the token matters.
Read Circle’s USDC announcement → -
Ethereum changes how it secures the network
In an upgrade called the Merge, Ethereum switched from mining to proof of stake. Under the new system, participants can lock up ETH to help verify the network’s activity. Bitcoin continues to use mining.
Learn how Ethereum’s Merge worked → -
FTX files for bankruptcy
Crypto exchange FTX and affiliated companies filed for Chapter 11. Federal prosecutors later secured a conviction against founder Sam Bankman-Fried for fraud and other offenses. The case made the risks of relying on a company to hold customer assets especially clear.
Read the SEC filing (PDF) →
Read the Justice Department’s case summary → -
Spot Bitcoin products reach U.S. exchanges
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved the listing and trading of several spot Bitcoin exchange-traded products. Investors could get exposure to Bitcoin’s price through brokerage accounts without needing to manage Bitcoin wallet keys themselves.
Read the SEC’s statement → -
The U.S. enacts a payment stablecoin law
The GENIUS Act became U.S. law. It established a federal framework for payment stablecoins and set requirements for issuers, including rules on reserves and redemption.
Read the law on GovInfo →
CRYPTO BASICS / THE TIMELINE
A brief history of crypto
Bitcoin began with a question. Could two people send money over the internet without a bank in the middle? Follow the milestones that took crypto from a research paper to real-world payments, programmable apps, and new financial rules.