Background
On November 1, 2008, an academic paper describing a new digital
currency was published by Satoshi Nakamoto (a pseudonymous person
or group of people) in The Cryptography Mailing List at
metzdowd.com, where the term "Bitcoin" was born. In 2009,
Nakamoto released the first software that launched the Bitcoin
network. The first units of the currency and subsequent first deal
were made afterwards.
In 2012, one Bitcoin was worth between USD 12-13. By October
2013, one Bitcoin reached USD 205. As Bitcoin began to gain ground,
speculators appeared, contributing to the price of Bitcoin breaking
the USD 1,000 mark. As Bitcoin has proliferated, transactions made
with it have included items from candy sales to tuition payments,
as well as illegal drug and gun deals.
