Blockchain as a concept isn’t that old, which is why the technologies derived from it are still considered highly innovative. It’s sometimes overlooked, but it wasn’t Satoshi Nakamoto who coined the term. So how did it come to be democratized?
The origins of the term “blockchain “
The Bitcoin (BTC) whitepaper was published on October 31, 2008, under the title “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System”. The publication, which lays down the rules of the Bitcoin network, makes no mention of the “blockchain”. Instead, Satoshi Nakamoto refers to a “timestamp server”.
“The solution we propose starts with a timestamp server. “
The term “block” appears, however: Bitcoin’s creator explains that each timestamp will be preceded and followed by another, to form a “chain”:
But the two words are not included in Bitcoin’s whitepaper. We’ll have to wait until a few days after its release for this to be done for the first time.
Hal Finney creates the term “blockchain “
Bitcoin’s whitepaper immediately attracted the attention of the cypherpunk movement, of which Satoshi Nakamoto was a member. This was particularly true of developer Hal Finney, who regularly traded with Bitcoin’s creator. After reading the white paper, he asked him several technical questions. On November 9, 2008, he used the term “block chain” for the first time, with a space :
“It’s mentioned that if a transaction doesn’t reach all the nodes, it still works, because it will reach the block chain shortly. “
In a response to Hal Finney later in the exchange, Satoshi Nakamoto himself takes up the term, perhaps for the first time:
Satoshi Nakamoto himself takes up the term
We see that the term “blockchain”, which seems intimately linked to the origins of Bitcoin (BTC), was not invented by the man who created the largest cryptocurrency. A reminder that, when it comes to innovation, the names chosen count for a great deal in the adoption of a technology.
