Block School: A Brief Pre-Bitcoin History

Here at NewsBTC we believe that education and knowledge is fundamental to the wider adoption of cryptocurrencies and growth of the blockchain industry. We will be expanding our education section by delving deeper into some of the machinations and technology behind the blocks. Our weekly articles aim to provide a greater understanding of how things work in the crypto ecosystem.

Early Origins – A Brief Pre-Bitcoin History

To kick things off we will take a look at the history of cryptocurrency and go back to its very beginnings. As governments and banks became more powerful a libertarian cypherpunk movement evolved to advocate the use of technology to protect privacy. By using cryptography they defined it as the power to selectively reveal oneself.

According to A Cypherpunk’s Manifesto written by mathematician and computer programmer Eric Hughes in 1993;

“Privacy is necessary for an open society in the electronic age. Privacy is not secrecy. A private matter is something one doesn’t…