The early history of bitcoin

Bitcoin started on Jan. 3, 2009, when a hacker or group of hackers - working under the name Satoshi Nakamoto - released an ingenious string of computer code that created a system allowing people to transfer money to one another online and directly, without revealing their identity and outside of government control.

In a 500-word essay, Nakamoto suggested that "the root problem with conventional currencies is all the trust that's required to make it work."