Tutorials:Visit the Cryptography Mailing List

Quest: Visit the Cryptography Mailing List

Let us dive directly into the world of cryptocurrency and explore where Bitcoin started. The idea of Bitcoin was first published on a cryptography mailing list, as the core ingredient of cryptocurrency technology is Public and Private Key Cryptography.

Steps

Visit this website: Bitcoin is first presented

This is the email where the mysterious author, Satoshi Nakamoto, announced the creation of Bitcoin.  
 

The concept was detailed in the Bitcoin white paper, an article explaining the invention.

Task

1. Find Bitcoin's white paper.
2. Read the Abstract and the Introduction.
3. Zealy Task: Type the last word of the introduction.

Exercise

The most important function of cryptocurrency is described in the introduction of the Bitcoin white paper:

• What is needed is an electronic payment system based on cryptographic proof instead of trust, allowing any two willing parties to transact directly with each other without the need for a trusted third party.

Key Insights

• Most of the money used today is digital, with only a few percent of the total money supply existing in physical form.
• The majority of transactions are digital and are processed, verified, and approved by financial institutions such as banks and credit card companies.

In contrast:

• Bitcoin transactions are processed by a peer-to-peer (P2P) computer network.

 * P2P means that all computers in the network are on equal footing.  
 * Any network node can join or leave at any time, as long as it uses the same communication protocol implemented by a software called the Bitcoin client.  

The Importance of Bitcoin

• Bitcoin eliminates the need to trust third parties such as governments, banks, institutions, or individuals.
• Instead, Bitcoin relies on cryptography, replacing trust in human-made laws with trust in mathematics and the laws of nature.
• This fundamentally changes the monetary system, shifting its foundation from people and institutions to pure mathematics.