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Topic: What were the precursors of Bitcoin? (Read 360 times)

hero member
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April 16, 2021, 10:54:20 AM
#21
introduction to the background of bitcoin is one of the cryptocurrencies that uses per for the transaction process, bitcoin is one of the most successful expenses in the world in digital, bitcoin success was followed by the emergence of crypto currency,
jr. member
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December 26, 2020, 01:13:23 AM
#20
A lot had happened before bitcoin to make it reach this level. The idea before bitcoins weren't so effective and weren't properly implemented which makes Bitcoin the first-ever decentralized crypto.
legendary
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eXch.cx - Automatic crypto Swap Exchange.
November 24, 2020, 12:43:02 AM
#19
Maybe it wasn’t the first to come up with this kind of idea; I have seen people say things like this that there has been others that were created earlier before we had Bitcoin, but none of them were successful. So, what’s the need of counting them if they were not successful?

Because they did play a role in the success of Bitcoin. I'm quite sure Satoshi must have studied those other projects, understanding them better and decoding the reason behind their failure. Works on bettering them and brought about the birth of bitcoin, the first successful one among them all. Let me make it clearly there's no success story without previous series of failure that was used as a learning stage.

Take ethereum as a perfect example, it was the first of its kind but that isn't the case anymore. Ethereum failure in bringing true decentralized smart contract blockchain which is something the new so called ethereum killers are trying to accomplish but are failing at doing so too. Although that doesn't mean a truely decentralized Ethereum like blockchain (platform) won't be built in the future. When that does happen we still have to give credit to Ethereum just as we have to do with bitcoin processors.
legendary
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November 24, 2020, 12:05:16 AM
#18
I remember your question was asked by: @DieJohnny in 2015, at least for your question, a few percent there is an answer in the topic @DieJohnny.

Look at some of the answers there, I think your problem will be resolved.

So Bitcoin solved the Byzantine general problem. Everyone is working on the next hash, the first to find it gets to draft the next master ledger which is then shared with all, the longest chain always wins......... or something like that

So I am confused..... what truly differentiated Bitcoin from its precursors: "eCash", "Nanobarter", "BitGold" & "BitGold-Markets" yada yada

Were these precursors simply ideas on paper and Bitcoin was the first real open source coded attempt? Were prior efforts not decentralized?Huh Is that really all it comes down to?

What specific piece did Satoshi add to the mix that created the technological tour de force that became Bitcoin?  Or was it simply adoption? Bitcoin was adopted by millions the others were not?Huh?
member
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November 23, 2020, 11:53:32 PM
#17
Possibly it wasn't the first to think of this sort of thought; I have seen individuals make statements like this that there have been others that were made before we had Bitcoin, yet none of them were fruitful. All in all, what's the need of checking them in the event that they were not effective?

Bitcoin is the one that came out fruitful and is presently generally embraced more than each other cryptographic money there is, so it should be viewed as the first. Also, something else I was made to comprehend from a portion of the examination I have made concerning this is that Bitcoin is the first to be decentralized. There have been different endeavors to make digital forms of money like piece gold and ecash.
member
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October 09, 2020, 05:32:15 AM
#16
The clearest article about the academic history of cryptocurrencies (as a concept).
https://queue.acm.org/detail.cfm?id=3136559
member
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October 09, 2020, 05:14:24 AM
#15
If I remember correctly everything started form Bittorrent or rather torrents to be clear. Now Bittorent was taken over by some guys from Tron foundation.
A P2P communication protocol like BitTorrent breaks down the files into pieces and moves them from uploaders (seeders) to downloaders (leechers) via a torrent client a separate program that reads all the information in the torrent file. Sound familiar, doesn't it? Just replace some words and we will get a simple definition for blockchain.

i don't see any other relationship between bitcoin and torrent protocol other than both being peer to peer networks. otherwise bitcoin has the proof of work and the blockchain and is a consensus system with cryptography on top all of which are missing in torrent protocol.

BTW Tron owner bought bittorrent client brand name so that he could make a name for himself and gain popularity to later on use it to raise more funds when he started his shitcoin sale fundraising shenanigan Wink

Changin information in a torrent will affect the torrent it self and usually will end up not wokring just like when you want to change tx in blockchain ( double spending). So in  my opinion it is just different approacht to cryptography but I have read more about it and it seems I was wrong about blockchain origins.
sr. member
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Blue0x.com
September 28, 2020, 11:39:51 AM
#14
     I really love reading about bitcoin history and how people veiw this or their opinion about the event or the things that happened to bitcoin which have contributed little or a lot to what bitcoin is today. In the pre-bitcoin times there were actually quite a few concepts that are pretty similar with the concept of bitcoin which may have been where the concept of bitcoin was also derived from. Good read op.
legendary
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September 27, 2020, 11:54:51 AM
#13
legendary
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Playgram - The Telegram Casino
September 27, 2020, 11:01:39 AM
#12
The first to really capitalize on the market I would say. Since, eCash, although being very different from Bitcoin of today was a concept back in the 1980s, which I think was implemented into Digicash? As far as I know, this is the very foundations to what we now call cryptocurrencies, and its interesting to me that the concept was thought of many years ago. I'm not sure of the success of eCash, or Digicash, but I believe Bitcoin is the closest thing we've had that uses similar ish concepts that has garnered the interest of the mainstream media.

I guess part of the reason why eCash failed was because it relied on centralized issuance and therefore was still too tightly coupled to classical banking and the DigiCash corporation itself. Too that end it was more like a hyper-advanced anonymous prepaid payment system than a modern cryptocurrency.

I'd love to think that eCash / DigiCash' failure was mostly due to being too early, but seeing how GNU Taler (ie. a direct descendant of eCash) is also failing to gain traction there seem to be other factors at play as well though.
staff
Activity: 3304
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September 27, 2020, 09:00:25 AM
#11
Maybe it wasn’t the first to come up with this kind of idea;

...but it was the first to come up with a solution! Cool

That is to say, Bitcoin might not be the first digital currency but it's the first cryptocurrency (ie. the first decentralized, counterfeit-proof digital currency).

It's easy to forget these days how big of a deal this was, but there's no precedent for this kind of money before Bitcoin.
The first to really capitalize on the market I would say. Since, eCash, although being very different from Bitcoin of today was a concept back in the 1980s, which I think was implemented into Digicash? As far as I know, this is the very foundations to what we now call cryptocurrencies, and its interesting to me that the concept was thought of many years ago. I'm not sure of the success of eCash, or Digicash, but I believe Bitcoin is the closest thing we've had that uses similar ish concepts that has garnered the interest of the mainstream media.
legendary
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Playgram - The Telegram Casino
September 27, 2020, 08:51:48 AM
#10
Maybe it wasn’t the first to come up with this kind of idea;

...but it was the first to come up with a solution! Cool

That is to say, Bitcoin might not be the first digital currency but it's the first cryptocurrency (ie. the first decentralized, counterfeit-proof digital currency).

It's easy to forget these days how big of a deal this was, but there's no precedent for this kind of money before Bitcoin.
legendary
Activity: 1512
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Farewell, Leo
September 27, 2020, 08:19:39 AM
#9
Because hashcash was before bitcoin it doesn't mean that bitcoin was bornt from hashcash. Bitcoin is a creation that took some important accomplishments back in the 90's and implement them to create a digital currency. Satoshi had referenced to bmoney too. It doesn't make bmoney a cryptocurrency.

Bitcoin was something innovative.

(♫ "Proof of work with all that hash, making us some digital cash." ♪)
legendary
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September 27, 2020, 02:41:45 AM
#8
Bitcoin is often described as the 'first cryptocurrency' in media, but I vaguely remember there was some history before Satoshi's (amazing) implementation.

I remember hashcash (not a currency) which was used to prevent spam way before Bitcoin, and Bitcoin uses its idea.

What were the other attempts at cryptocurrencies or precursors before Bitcoin?

You can find here a very long and detailed essay of mine, describing all Bitcoin's ancestors: Bitcoin: The dream of Cypherpunks, libertarians and crypto-anarchists. On the second page of posts you can also find a comparison made by me for Bitcoin and all of its ancestors. It was "hand made" to say so, but I think the article can help you understand better all you asked for.
sr. member
Activity: 1914
Merit: 328
September 26, 2020, 12:13:28 PM
#7
Maybe it wasn’t the first to come up with this kind of idea; I have seen people say things like this that there has been others that were created earlier before we had Bitcoin, but none of them were successful. So, what’s the need of counting them if they were not successful?

Bitcoin is the one that came out successful and is now widely adopted more than every other cryptocurrencies there is, so it should be regarded as the first. And another thing I was made to understand from some of the research I have made concerning this is that Bitcoin is the first to be decentralized. There has been other attempts to create cryptocurrency like bit gold and ecash.
legendary
Activity: 3472
Merit: 10611
September 25, 2020, 07:31:46 AM
#6
If I remember correctly everything started form Bittorrent or rather torrents to be clear. Now Bittorent was taken over by some guys from Tron foundation.
A P2P communication protocol like BitTorrent breaks down the files into pieces and moves them from uploaders (seeders) to downloaders (leechers) via a torrent client a separate program that reads all the information in the torrent file. Sound familiar, doesn't it? Just replace some words and we will get a simple definition for blockchain.

i don't see any other relationship between bitcoin and torrent protocol other than both being peer to peer networks. otherwise bitcoin has the proof of work and the blockchain and is a consensus system with cryptography on top all of which are missing in torrent protocol.

BTW Tron owner bought bittorrent client brand name so that he could make a name for himself and gain popularity to later on use it to raise more funds when he started his shitcoin sale fundraising shenanigan Wink
hero member
Activity: 2870
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September 25, 2020, 05:45:06 AM
#5
There is an good thread about it here, Bitcoin Prehistory. I think you can visit it and I'm sure you will learn a thing or two.  Smiley
member
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September 25, 2020, 05:02:35 AM
#4
If I remember correctly everything started form Bittorrent or rather torrents to be clear. Now Bittorent was taken over by some guys from Tron foundation.
A P2P communication protocol like BitTorrent breaks down the files into pieces and moves them from uploaders (seeders) to downloaders (leechers) via a torrent client a separate program that reads all the information in the torrent file. Sound familiar, doesn't it? Just replace some words and we will get a simple definition for blockchain.
copper member
Activity: 2856
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https://bit.ly/387FXHi lightning theory
September 24, 2020, 04:51:53 PM
#3
Bitcoin is often described as the 'first cryptocurrency' in media, but I vaguely remember there was some history before Satoshi's (amazing) implementation.

I think the point was it was one of the first fairly fully decentralised cryptocurrency to exist.

Hashcash afaik came from 1996 as you say to authenticate real users..

I think there was then another coin released earlier than bitcoin which wasn't decentralised.

HeRetiks link looks really detailed though.
legendary
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Playgram - The Telegram Casino
September 24, 2020, 04:43:56 PM
#2
This article should give a pretty comprehensive overview of Bitcoin's foundational predecessors and building blocks:

https://queue.acm.org/detail.cfm?id=3136559

Hashcash's PoW is an important part of Bitcoin's history but it actually goes even deeper than that Smiley
newbie
Activity: 25
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September 24, 2020, 04:34:05 PM
#1
Bitcoin is often described as the 'first cryptocurrency' in media, but I vaguely remember there was some history before Satoshi's (amazing) implementation.

I remember hashcash (not a currency) which was used to prevent spam way before Bitcoin, and Bitcoin uses its idea.

What were the other attempts at cryptocurrencies or precursors before Bitcoin?
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