Bitcoin's white paper was published 12 years ago today
On October 31, 2008, the white paper that first described Bitcoin was published on a mailing list for those interested in cryptography.
"I've been working on a new electronic cash system that's fully peer-to-peer, with no trusted third party," wrote Satoshi Nakamoto, bitcoin's pseudonymous creator. The link included in that email still works today, directing readers to the nine-page white paper that described the particulars of bitcoin's design.
"The main properties: Double-spending is prevented with a peer-to-peer network. No mint or other trusted parties. Participants can be anonymous. New coins are made from Hashcash style proof-of-work. The proof of work for new coin generation also powers the network to prevent double spending," Nakamoto wrote in the email.
Months later, the Bitcoin network went live on January 3, 2009.
Read the full Bitcoin white paper below: