History of Blockchain in Timeline

A blockchain is a decentralized, distributed, and immutable ledger consisting of linked blocks. Each block contains a cryptographic hash of the previous block, a timestamp, and transaction data. This chaining mechanism makes blockchains highly resistant to tampering, as modifying any block would require altering all subsequent blocks. Consensus mechanisms are used to validate new blocks and ensure the integrity of the entire chain, making blockchains a secure and transparent way to record and verify transactions.

1982: David Chaum Proposes Blockchain-like Protocol

In 1982, David Chaum proposed a blockchain-like protocol in his dissertation "Computer Systems Established, Maintained, and Trusted by Mutually Suspicious Groups."

1991: Haber and Stornetta Describe Cryptographically Secured Chain of Blocks

In 1991, Stuart Haber and W. Scott Stornetta described a cryptographically secured chain of blocks, aiming to implement a system where document timestamps could not be tampered with.

1992: Dwork and Naor propose "Pricing via Processing or Combatting Junk Mail"

In 1992, Cynthia Dwork and Moni Naor proposed the original idea for what would later become Hashcash in their paper "Pricing via Processing or Combatting Junk Mail".

1992: Haber, Stornetta, and Bayer Incorporate Merkle Trees

In 1992, Haber, Stornetta, and Dave Bayer incorporated Merkle trees into their blockchain design, improving efficiency by allowing multiple document certificates to be collected into one block.

1995: Surety Publishes Document Certificate Hashes in The New York Times

Since 1995, Surety has published document certificate hashes in The New York Times every week.

1997: Adam Back Designs Hashcash

In 1997, Adam Back designed Hashcash, which is used by bitcoin to prolong the blockchain.

2008: Satoshi Nakamoto Conceptualizes Decentralized Blockchain

In 2008, Satoshi Nakamoto conceptualized the first decentralized blockchain, improving the design by using a Hashcash-like method to timestamp blocks without needing a trusted party and introducing a difficulty parameter.

2008: Creation of Blockchain by Satoshi Nakamoto

In 2008, a blockchain was created by Satoshi Nakamoto as the public distributed ledger for bitcoin transactions. This implementation solved the double-spending problem without a central authority, inspiring other applications and public blockchains.

2008: Adverse Implications of Private Blockchain During Financial Crisis

Nikolai Hampton highlights adverse implications during a financial crisis such as the 2008 financial crisis, where powerful actors may favor some groups over others; the Bitcoin blockchain is protected by a massive mining effort, unlike private blockchains.

2009: Bitcoin Released as Open-Source Software

In 2009, Bitcoin, the first cryptocurrency, was released as open-source software.

2011: Namecoin forked from bitcoin

In 2011, Namecoin, a cryptocurrency that supports the ".bit" top-level domain (TLD), was forked from bitcoin.

March 2013: Bitcoin Split Resolved by Majority Nodes Returning to Old Rules

On March 12, 2013, a Bitcoin split was resolved when a majority of nodes using the new software returned to the old rules, preventing a permanent split.

August 2014: Bitcoin Blockchain File Size Reaches 20 GB

In August 2014, the bitcoin blockchain file size, which contains records of all transactions, reached 20 GB.

October 2014: MIT Bitcoin Club provides students with bitcoin

In October 2014, the MIT Bitcoin Club, with funding from MIT alumni, provided undergraduate students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology access to $100 of bitcoin.

2014: Nxt Community Considers Hard Fork After Theft

In 2014, the Nxt community considered a hard fork to rollback blockchain records to mitigate the theft of 50 million NXT from a cryptocurrency exchange; the proposal was rejected.

September 2015: Ledger academic journal announced

In September 2015, the first peer-reviewed academic journal dedicated to cryptocurrency and blockchain technology research, Ledger, was announced.

2015: .bit usage

As of 2015, the .bit TLD was used by 28 websites, out of 120,000 registered names.

April 2016: Standards Australia Proposes Blockchain Standards to ISO

In April 2016, Standards Australia proposed the development of blockchain standards to the International Organization for Standardization, leading to the creation of ISO Technical Committee 307.

September 2016: Banks Express Interest in Implementing Distributed Ledgers

According to Reason, many banks have expressed interest in implementing distributed ledgers for use in banking and are cooperating with companies creating private blockchains; according to a September 2016 IBM study, it is occurring faster than expected.

December 2016: Inaugural issue of Ledger published

In December 2016, the inaugural issue of Ledger was published. The journal covers aspects of mathematics, computer science, engineering, law, economics and philosophy that relate to cryptocurrencies.

2016: Blockchain Wallet Growth Begins

Between 2016 and 2020, the number of blockchain wallets quadrupled to 40 million.

2016: Blockchain Becomes a Single Word

By 2016, the words "block" and "chain," which were used separately in Satoshi Nakamoto's original paper, were popularized as a single word, "blockchain."

2016: Businesses Test Blockchain Technology for Organizational Efficiency

By late 2016, some businesses had been testing blockchain technology and conducting low-level implementation to gauge its effects on organizational efficiency in their back office.

2016: Adoption rates of bitcoin studied

In 2016, Catalini and Tucker studied the adoption rates of bitcoin, revealing that when people who typically adopt technologies early are given delayed access, they tend to reject the technology.

2016: Ethereum Hard Fork to "Make Whole" Investors in The DAO

In 2016, Ethereum was hard forked to "make whole" the investors in The DAO after a hack, resulting in the creation of Ethereum and Ethereum Classic chains.

2016: Blockchain Adoption Reaches Early Adopters Phase in Financial Services

In 2016, according to Accenture, blockchain attained a 13.5% adoption rate within financial services, reaching the early adopters' phase. Industry trade groups also joined to create the Global Blockchain Forum in 2016.

2016: Venture Capital Investment Changes in Blockchain Projects

In 2016, venture capital investment for blockchain-related projects was weakening in the US but increasing in China.

November 2017: CryptoKitties Launched as First Known Blockchain Game

In November 2017, CryptoKitties was launched as the first known game to use blockchain technologies, where players purchase NFTs with Ethereum cryptocurrency.

December 2017: Virtual Pet in CryptoKitties Sold for Over US$100,000

In December 2017, one virtual pet in CryptoKitties sold for more than US$100,000.

2017: Bitcoin Hard Fork Creates Bitcoin Cash

In 2017, Bitcoin experienced a hard fork that resulted in a split creating Bitcoin Cash, due to disagreements on how to increase transactions per second.

2017: IBM partners with ASCAP and PRS for Music to adopt blockchain technology

In 2017, IBM partnered with ASCAP and PRS for Music to adopt blockchain technology in music distribution.

2017: Launch of Cardano using proof-of-stake model

In 2017, early concern over the high energy consumption was a factor in later blockchains such as Cardano adopting the less energy-intensive proof-of-stake model.

2017: Universities found departments focusing on crypto and blockchain

In 2017, many universities founded departments focusing on crypto and blockchain, including MIT. In the same year, Edinburgh became "one of the first big European universities to launch a blockchain course".

April 2018: Bitcoin Has Highest Market Capitalization

As of April 2018, bitcoin has the highest market capitalization among cryptocurrencies.

May 2018: Gartner Finds Low Blockchain Adoption Among CIOs

In May 2018, Gartner found that only 1% of CIOs indicated any kind of blockchain adoption within their organizations, and only 8% were in the short-term "planning or [looking at] active experimentation with blockchain".

June 2018: Bank for International Settlements criticizes energy consumption of proof-of-work blockchains

In June 2018, the Bank for International Settlements criticized the use of public proof-of-work blockchains for their high energy consumption.

2018: PwC Study Shows High Exposure to Blockchain Among Business Executives

A 2018 PwC study surveyed 600 business executives and determined that 84% have at least some exposure to utilizing blockchain technology, indicating significant demand and interest.

2018: IMF Staff Discusses Smart Contracts

An IMF staff discussion from 2018 reported that smart contracts based on blockchain technology might reduce moral hazards and optimize the use of contracts in general, but "no viable smart contract systems have yet emerged."

2018: Nicholas Weaver examines blockchain's online security and energy efficiency

In 2018, Nicholas Weaver examined blockchain's online security and the energy efficiency of proof-of-work public blockchains, and found them grossly inadequate. The electricity used for bitcoin produced 17–23 million tonnes of CO2.

2018: CryptoKitties Creates Congestion on Ethereum Network

In early 2018, CryptoKitties created significant congestion on the Ethereum network, accounting for approximately 30% of all Ethereum transactions.

June 2019: BBC World Service Identifies Blockchain as a Consequential Technology

In June 2019, Tim Harford discussed on BBC World Service radio and podcast series Fifty Things That Made the Modern Economy why blockchain might have much wider applications and the challenges that needed to be overcome.

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2019: Gartner Reports Low Belief in Blockchain as a 'Game-Changer'

For the year 2019 Gartner reported 5% of CIOs believed blockchain technology was a 'game-changer' for their business.

2019: Namecoin dropped by OpenNIC

In 2019, Namecoin was dropped by OpenNIC, due to malware and potential other legal issues.

2019: Blockchain technology accepted in Chinese legal proceedings

In 2019, blockchain technology was first accepted as a method for authenticating internet evidence by the Hangzhou Internet Court in Chinese legal proceedings.

2019: Investment in Blockchain Technology Reaches $2.9 Billion

In 2019, it was estimated that around $2.9 billion were invested in blockchain technology, an 89% increase from the year prior.

2019: Gartner Survey reports on blockchain projects in higher education

The Gartner 2019 CIO Survey reported that 2% of higher education respondents had launched blockchain projects, and another 18% were planning academic projects in the next 24 months.

2020: Blockchain Wallets Reach 40 Million

Between 2016 and 2020, the number of blockchain wallets quadrupled to 40 million.

2020: Launch of Solana and Polkadot using proof-of-stake model

In 2020, early concern over the high energy consumption was a factor in later blockchains such as Solana and Polkadot adopting the less energy-intensive proof-of-stake model.

February 2021: Janet Yellen calls bitcoin "an extremely inefficient way to conduct transactions"

In February 2021, U.S. Treasury secretary Janet Yellen called bitcoin "an extremely inefficient way to conduct transactions", saying "the amount of energy consumed in processing those transactions is staggering".

March 2021: Bill Gates states that "Bitcoin uses more electricity per transaction than any other method known to mankind"

In March 2021, Bill Gates stated that "Bitcoin uses more electricity per transaction than any other method known to mankind", adding "It's not a great climate thing."

October 2021: Valve bans blockchain games from Steam

In October 2021, Valve Corporation banned blockchain games, including those using cryptocurrency and NFTs, from being hosted on its Steam digital storefront service, claiming that this was an extension of their policy banning games that offered in-game items with real-world value.

2021: Cambridge University study on Bitcoin's electricity usage

In 2021, a study by Cambridge University determined that bitcoin (at 121 terawatt-hours per year) used more electricity than Argentina (at 121TWh) and the Netherlands (109TWh).

2021: Refueled interest in GameFi

In 2021, the limited successes of some games, such as Axie Infinity, during the COVID-19 pandemic and corporate plans towards metaverse content, refueled interest in the area of GameFi. Several major publishers stated that blockchain and NFT-based games were under consideration.

January 30, 2022: China trials blockchain applications

As of January 30, 2022, Beijing and Shanghai are among the cities designated by China to trial blockchain applications.

2022: University of Cambridge and Digiconomist estimate electricity usage of Bitcoin and Ethereum

By 2022, the University of Cambridge and Digiconomist estimated that bitcoin and Ethereum together used twice as much electricity in one year as the whole of Sweden, leading to the release of up to 120 million tonnes of CO2 each year.

2022: Amendments to the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) introduced Article 12

In 2022 the United States introduced Article 12 of the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) that establishes "controllable electronic records" (CERs) as a new category of personal property.

2022: Paper Published Discussing Blockchain Use in Sustainable Management

In 2022, a paper was published discussing the potential use of blockchain technology in sustainable management.

2022: Ethereum converted from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake

In Sept, 2022, Ethereum converted from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake.

2022: Corporate Investment in Blockchain Estimated to Reach $12.4 Billion

The International Data Corp estimated that corporate investment into blockchain technology would reach $12.4 billion by 2022.

2024: Bitcoin Blockchain Exceeds 600 GB

By 2024, the bitcoin blockchain exceeded 600 GB in size.

2025: World Economic Forum Estimates 10% of Global GDP Stored on Blockchain

It was estimated by the World Economic Forum that by 2025, 10% of the world's GDP would be stored on blockchain related technology.

2030: Blockchain Technology Could Generate $3 Trillion in Annual Business Value

According to PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), blockchain technology has the potential to generate an annual business value of more than $3 trillion by 2030.