Who are the Creators of the First Cryptocurrencies?
Background
This short piece will provide answers to your questions about the creators of the first cryptocurrencies. Before we dive in, note that there are over 4,000 cryptocurrencies in the world today. Nonetheless, you will get to know the creators of Bitcoin, Ethereum, and EOS. More so, you will be provided with a general knowledge of other cryptocurrencies.
However, since Bitcoin, Ethereum, and EOS pioneered the various innovations in the cryptocurrency space, they are the focus of this piece. Meanwhile, note that cryptocurrencies are forms of digital currency and that there are various types: Bitcoin, Altcoins, and Tokens.
Cryptocurrencies are generally made to perform secure transactions in a distributed system cryptographically, which is the first implementation of Blockchain.
History of Cryptocurrencies
Although Bitcoin was not the first thought of Cryptocurrency, it was the first successfully launched one. Therefore, it forms the basics of illustrating the history of cryptocurrencies in this context. Consequently, you can find an extensive history of Cryptocurrency here, while you grasp the summary listed below:
Pre-Bitcoin Era:
This is the period before Bitcoin was launched, which occurred between 1990-2008. During this period, forms of cryptocurrencies like B-Money and Bit Gold were formulated, but were not successfully developed.
The Nakamoto and Bitcoin Era.
Satoshi Nakamoto, a pseudo-anonymous entity, posted a paper called Bitcoin-A Peer to Peer Electronic Cash System, through a mailing list discussing cryptography. Since then, the Bitcoin came into existence. Concurrently, the first Bitcoin transaction was in 2009.
The Blumer, Larimer and EOS Era.
In May 2017, investor Brendan Blumer, and software programmer Daniel Larimer, formed Block.one, an open source software publishing company specializing in high performance blockchain technologies. In May 2017, Blumer and Larimer announced their first project, EOS.IO. The initial release of EOS was on July 31, 2018 and the latest release was on July 9, 2019. Currently, EOS ranks number 8 out of the top 10 cryptocurrencies.
Other Cryptocurrencies Emerged.
Between 2009 to 2011, Bitcoin struggled to operate a hidden scheme where users were seen as cybercriminals. While research and debates began, other Bitcoin rivals emerged. Among them were Namecoin and Litecoin, which strived to improve transaction speed, anonymity, and other limitations. However, other Bitcoin rivals are generally referred to as Altcoins, a short form of alternative cryptocurrency coins.
Ethereum and Tokens.
Ethereum is the brainchild of Vitalik Butterin. Not only did he did strive to improve Bitcoin’s transaction speed and consensus, he also deployed Blockchain for other use cases beyond finance. Ethereun operates its Blockchain like Bitcoin and its Cryptocurrency as either. Through Ethereum, sparked inovations such as ICOs, DApps, and the recent DeFi. Therefore as Bitcoin pioneered Altcoins, Ethereum pioneered Tokens and other inventions, as mentioned earlier. Other token-based cryptocurrencies including, but not limited to EOS, NEO, etc.
Who are the Creators of Cryptocurrencies?
Having read thus far, you should understand that Cryptocurrency is a broad term referring to secure digital currencies cryptographically. Hence, the right question is: Who created a particular Cryptocurrency?
As a recap, an entity named Satoshi Nakamoto created Bitcoin, Vitalik Butterin created Ethereum, and Brendan Blumer and Daniel Larimer created EOS. Other cryptocurrencies were created by different influencers.
Takeaways
Cryptocurrency is a communal effort by researchers. The first successful Cryptocurrency is Bitcoin, and since then, other Altcoins and Tokens emerged. When discussing the creators of cryptocurrencies, you must be specific about the Cryptocurrency you are talking about, since there are over 4,000 cryptocurrencies in existence today.
Okereke has a passion for researching blockchain and cryptocurrency. He enjoys creating long form educational content to inform others on the opportunities in this space.