January 3, 2009 was the day when the Bitcoin blockchain network had its very first block mined - the block #0 - with a mining reward of 50BTC.

The first transaction was timestamped at 6:15PM (server time).

Given how much the required electricity consumption for Bitcoin mining has jumped over the years, the mining reward for a single block has dropped to 12.5BTC these days. But still, the cryptocurrency is worth a lot more than 50BTC when it all started.

It was on October 31 of 2008, that a paper written by a person or group named ‘Satoshi Nakamoto’ released a white paper called Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System.The document issued to the subscribers of the cryptography mailing list described a revolutionary technology that created the world’s first peer-to-peer and decentralized monetary system.

The internet-based money enabled online payments without having a third-party involved, and also wasn’t issued by a government or corporate entity.

Since the birth of Bitcoin back in 2009, the cryptocurrency market has experienced tremendous growth, boasting more than 1,000 different digital currencies and a total market cap of $695 billion.

It has gone from something which was worth nothing and just a meme, to become one of the most important things of the time. Considered to be the ‘people’s money’ because Bitcoin is decentralized has no rulers. This gives individuals the freedom to do whatever they want with their money.

In 2017, Bitcoin has had a phenomenal year, surpassing many expectations as the decentralized currency commands a staggering $100 billion market capitalization.

After the first block has been mined, It took another six days until the second block (#1) was mined (January 9, 2009).