Claude Shannon publishes “A Mathematical Theory of Communication,” formalizing information, entropy, and digital communication. Information theory →
50 maintained milestones
Bitcoin history, connected.
A maintained chronology connecting Bitcoin to its cryptographic predecessors, launch, protocol upgrades, custody standards, Lightning, privacy work, and the institutional era.
Timeline
History linked back to canonical conceptsShannon publishes “Communication Theory of Secrecy Systems,” helping formalize modern cryptographic analysis. Information theory →
Diffie and Hellman publish a method for establishing shared secrets over open networks. Public-key cryptography →
Rivest, Shamir, and Adleman publish RSA, showing practical public-key encryption and signatures. Public-key cryptography →
Ralph Merkle patents tree-based cryptographic commitments that later become important in distributed systems. Merkle trees →
David Chaum proposes blind signatures for privacy-preserving digital payments. David Chaum →
Chaum develops cryptographic electronic cash ideas that separate payment verification from payer identity. DigiCash and eCash →
Timothy C. May circulates “The Crypto Anarchist Manifesto.” Crypto-anarchy →
David Chaum founds DigiCash to commercialize cryptographic electronic money. DigiCash and eCash →
Eric Hughes, Timothy C. May, John Gilmore and others help form the cypherpunk community and mailing list. Cypherpunks →
Eric Hughes publishes “A Cypherpunk’s Manifesto,” emphasizing privacy through deployed cryptography. Cypherpunks →
Adam Back introduces Hashcash proof of work as an anti-spam mechanism. Hashcash →
Wei Dai proposes b-money, an anonymous distributed electronic cash system. b-money →
Nick Szabo develops the Bit Gold concept around costly-to-create, linked digital objects. Bit Gold →
Hal Finney launches Reusable Proofs of Work, making proof-of-work tokens transferable through trusted hardware. Reusable Proofs of Work →
Satoshi Nakamoto publishes “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System” on October 31. Bitcoin white paper →
Satoshi sends bitcoin to Hal Finney in the first well-known person-to-person Bitcoin transaction. Hal Finney →
Satoshi mines Bitcoin block 0 on January 3. Genesis block →
Bitcoin v0.1 is released and the network begins operating publicly. Bitcoin →
Laszlo Hanyecz trades 10,000 BTC for two pizzas. Bitcoin Pizza Day →
Satoshi gradually transfers responsibilities and withdraws from public participation. Satoshi’s departure →
Bitcoin gains wider attention through use on Silk Road, intensifying debate around censorship resistance and illicit use. Silk Road →
BIP32 standardizes hierarchical deterministic wallets and extended keys. HD wallets →
The block subsidy falls from 50 BTC to 25 BTC. Halving →
Specialized ASIC hardware rapidly becomes dominant in Bitcoin mining. ASIC miners →
BIP39 standardizes mnemonic words for deterministic-wallet seed material. Seed phrases →
The Mt. Gox exchange collapses, becoming a defining lesson in custodial risk. Mt. Gox →
BIP65 adds an absolute timelock opcode to Bitcoin Script. CHECKLOCKTIMEVERIFY →
Joseph Poon and Thaddeus Dryja publish the Lightning Network paper. Lightning Network →
BIP152 compact block relay reduces bandwidth and latency for new-block propagation. Compact block relay →
BIP68 and BIP112 bring relative locktime semantics and CHECKSEQUENCEVERIFY into Bitcoin. CHECKSEQUENCEVERIFY →
The block subsidy falls from 25 BTC to 12.5 BTC. Halving →
Bitcoin Cash splits from Bitcoin amid the scaling dispute. Bitcoin Cash split →
BIP174 defines an interoperable Partially Signed Bitcoin Transaction format. Partially Signed Bitcoin Transactions →
Segregated Witness activates on Bitcoin. Segregated Witness →
The proposed SegWit2x hard fork is abandoned after failing to achieve broad consensus. Blocksize War →
Lightning implementations begin broader mainnet use and interoperability. Lightning Network →
BIP324 defines a version-2 encrypted transport for Bitcoin peer connections. BIP324 encrypted P2P transport →
BIP340, BIP341, and BIP342 formalize Schnorr signatures, Taproot, and Tapscript. Schnorr signatures →
The block subsidy falls from 12.5 BTC to 6.25 BTC. The 2020 halving →
The BIP380-series descriptor specifications standardize output descriptor semantics. Output descriptors →
El Salvador becomes the first country to make Bitcoin legal tender. El Salvador and Bitcoin →
Taproot activates, introducing Schnorr signatures and new scripting capabilities. Taproot →
Ordinals and inscriptions create a new wave of demand for Bitcoin block space. Ordinals and inscriptions →
BIP352 specifies reusable non-interactive Silent Payment addresses. Silent Payments →
The block subsidy falls from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC. The 2024 halving →
The Runes protocol launches around the 2024 halving, adding another token-related use of Bitcoin block space. Runes →
The SEC approves rule changes enabling multiple spot Bitcoin ETPs to begin trading in the United States. 2024 U.S. spot Bitcoin ETP approval →
The White House establishes a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve for government-held bitcoin. U.S. Strategic Bitcoin Reserve →
Bitcoin continues operating as a global monetary network while institutions, companies, funds, developers, miners, and sovereign actors deepen participation. Bitcoin →