diff --git a/ch01.asciidoc b/ch01.asciidoc index 3fab0164..b6639f6c 100644 --- a/ch01.asciidoc +++ b/ch01.asciidoc @@ -37,7 +37,7 @@ Bitcoin represents the culmination of decades of research in cryptography and di * A de-centralized mathematical and deterministic currency issuance (distributed mining), and; * A de-centralized transaction verification system (transaction script). -=== What is Bitcoin? +=== History of Bitcoin? Bitcoin was invented in 2008 by Satoshi Nakamoto with the publication of a paper titled "Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System". Satoshi Nakamoto combined several prior inventions such as b-money and HashCash to create a completely de-centralized electronic cash system that does not rely on a central authority for currency issuance or settlement and validation of transactions. The key innovation was to use a Proof-Of-Work algorithm to conduct a global "election" every 10 minutes, allowing the de-centralized network to arrive at _consensus_ about the state of transactions. This elegantly solves the issue of double-spend where a single currency unit can be spent twice. Previously, the double-spend problem was a weakness of digital currency and was addressed by clearing all transactions through a central clearinghouse.