Cryptocurrencies In India - Past, Present & Future

Cryptocurrency - Origin and Creation

The most popular cryptocurrency, bitcoin, was created in 2009 by one or more individuals under the pseudonym "Satoshi Nakamoto".¹ However, much before the creation of bitcoins, early work on cryptocurrencies can be traced back to the 1980s when a David Chaum wrote extensively on cryptography and digital cash in his papers 'security without identification'², 'blind signatures for untraceable payments'³ and others. The idea was eventually executed and "DigiCash" was invented in 1994. However, ultimately, in 1998, DigiCash had to file for bankruptcy since e-commerce had not fully evolved. A few more quasi-cryptocurrencies reared their heads. Dr. Adam Black created "Hashcash" in 1997, which was akin to Digicash, but with an anti-spam mechanism where cost was levied on users for sending emails, which prevented spamming. "B-money"⁴ was created in 1998 by Wei Dai, a computer scientist, to serve as a medium of exchange and a way to