The Bitcoin whitepaper, A peer-to-peer electronic cash systempublished by the mysterious and pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamoto, he turned seventeen yesterday.
Published on October 31, 2008, in the midst of the global financial crisis, the nine-page document laid the foundation for what would become the world’s first cryptocurrency.
The whitepaper outlines a vision for a peer-to-peer decentralized financial system based on cryptographic proofs rather than trust in third-party intermediaries. Its goal was to eliminate the problem of double spending and enable online transactions without relying on banks or other trusted third parties. “We have proposed a system for electronic transactions without relying on trust,” Satoshi wrote.
Seventeen years later, Bitcoin’s influence has reached far beyond the cypherpunk forums where it began. The anniversary comes as US spot bitcoin ETFs in less than two years of existence have experienced unprecedented success, with total net inflows of more than $62 billion and total net assets exceeding $150 billion, according to data from SoSoValue.
But Bitcoin’s widespread acceptance extends beyond Wall Street. It has now entered the highest levels of government, including the White House under the current US administration.
Some of Bitcoin’s most outspoken critics have become its biggest defenders. In 2021, former President Donald Trump dismissed Bitcoin as a “dollar scam.” However, in the 2024 presidential election, he urged his supporters to “never sell their bitcoins” and signed an executive order establishing a strategic bitcoin reserve.
Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, once called Bitcoin a “money laundering index.” Today he defends it as one of his company’s most successful ETF products and considers it a hedge against sovereign debt instability.
Likewise, Michael Saylor, the outspoken CEO of Strategy, has become one of Bitcoin’s most persistent evangelists and continues to accumulate BTC through equity and debt offerings. Saylor himself started out as a skeptic, once stating: “Bitcoin’s days are numbered. It seems only a matter of time before it suffers the same fate as online gambling.”
The last major hurdle among prominent financial figures remains JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon, who continues to express doubts about the value and sustainability of Bitcoin. However, his bank has moved enthusiastically into the sector, recently allowing customers to offer bitcoins as collateral.
The financialization of bitcoin through ETFs and corporate treasury adoption has drawn comparisons to the mortgage securitization boom of the 1970s, an era when asset prices soared to new heights.
However, this evolution has not pleased everyone. Many of Bitcoin’s early believers argue that its very spirit, a form of money outside of state control, has been diluted by institutional adoption.
For the cypherpunk movement that gave rise to Bitcoin, the adoption of the system by Wall Street and Washington seems like a paradox: a rebellion absorbed by the establishment it once sought to disrupt.
What exactly is Bitcoin and can it survive?
Annually, the average transaction fee per bitcoin block has fallen to its lowest level since 2010, raising concerns about the long-term sustainability of the network. Low fees, while attractive to users, reduce incentives for miners securing the network, especially as block rewards continue to halve every four years.
Originally conceived as a peer-to-peer electronic cash system, Bitcoin has become increasingly overshadowed by the “store of value” narrative. “Never sell your bitcoins,” is a common refrain from Michael Saylor to the Trump family and many voices in between.
At the same time, controversy continues within the developer community, particularly between Bitcoin Core and Bitcoin Knots, over whether the network should allow non-monetary data like Ordinals or impose stricter rules to block them. Some see such restrictions as necessary to preserve the integrity of the network, while others see them as a form of censorship that disrupts the open, permissionless nature of bitcoin.
Beyond internal debates, the looming question of quantum computing also poses an unresolved risk. The possibility of future quantum machines breaking existing cryptographic standards could threaten the security of Bitcoin, with a definitive solution yet to be implemented.
“There is no doubt that Bitcoin has arrived, embraced by Wall Street, and its sustained period above $100,000 confirms this,” Bitcoin OG Nicholas Gregory said recently. “Their transition from peer-to-peer cash to a store of value is evident,” he continued. “Where it goes in the long term remains to be seen. I, for one, believe its narrative as a medium of exchange is key to its lasting place, along with solutions to the quantum threat.”
