Bitcoin Turns 14: Genesis Day and Satoshi’s Idea of Monetary Sovereignty

The streak of bankruptcies and price declines has dampened glimmers of positive progress. But Bitcoin just turned 14 today. January 3 is known as Bitcoin Genesis Day for the first block of BTC ever mined by Satoshi way back in 2009, which paved the way for the cryptocurrency as we know it today.

The first block on the network hosts a single transaction – the 50 BTC block reward – sent to the pseudonymous creator(s) for mining it. The BTC mining rewards are yet to be touched.

Since the creation of Satoshi’s revolutionary monetary system and its intrinsic currency, a lot has changed.

The Genesis block essentially reflects Satoshi’s rejection of the centralized infrastructures of the current fiat system. The developer, instead, believed in decentralized pillars that were cryptographically secured in a mathematically verifiable digital system.

Clearly, the old system was failing, shaking people’s faith in banks. Building a new one without all of the controls and perils meant that coincided with the climactic unraveling of the global economy was a major milestone.

Satoshi did not stop there. Before mysteriously disappearing, they covertly coded into the genesis block with an “Easter Egg.”

“The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks.”

The above text is a headline for an article in the edition of The [London] Times about the British government’s failure to stimulate the economy after the 2007-08 financial crisis. The message was clear. The creation of genesis block on the same day as news of an imminent bank bailout is certainly symbolic.

Bitcoin was designed to serve the exact purpose that financial institutions, which are considered too big to fail, failed to do. Unlike traditional banks, Bitcoin cannot be bailed out. There is no middleman, no third party, nor any sort of corporate entity to meddle between the asset and the consumer.

Bitcoin’s Consistent Popularity

No amount of doomsayers and mainstream media declaring Bitcoin dead can actually make the blockchain stop. The crypto-asset has experienced four major bull/bear cycles since its inception.

More than a decade later, Bitcoin remains the most popular cryptocurrency option, despite the creation of thousands.

Data from Nasdaq and Ycharts, as shared on Reddit this week, revealed that there is no dethroning the king coin any time soon. While Ethereum recorded more than fourfold with 408.5 million ETH transactions in 2022, Bitcoin still remains the most searched crypto. It even reported a steadier transaction volume in its network than its rival.