Crypto history
2008–2009: Bitcoin and the problem of double spending
The original design addressed payment history without a central operator, not every form of financial deception.
Research · History · Reference
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438 · Articles and references
Image & sources
Editorial selection from separate research topics.
Crypto history
2015: Ethereum makes shared computation a public service
Frontier expanded the blockchain model from a payment history into a platform for programmes and persistent state.
Crypto history
2016–2024: the Bitfinex theft, laundering and later sentencing
The stolen bitcoin amount, later dollar valuations and recovered assets describe different stages of one case.
Crypto history
2017: SegWit changes Bitcoin transaction accounting
Separating witness data addressed transaction identifiers and increased the capacity available under a block-weight limit.
Crypto history
2018: Lightning reaches a mainnet beta
Payment channels move repeated balance updates away from individual onchain transactions, with operational responsibilities of their own.
Crypto history
2018: Uniswap makes pooled liquidity a trading venue
Automated market makers changed who could create a market and where execution costs appeared.
Crypto history
2020: liquidity mining turns usage into a token reward
Compound's distribution helped popularise an incentive model that made activity and sustainable demand harder to separate.
Crypto history
2021: EIP-1559 changes Ethereum fees and introduces base-fee burning
The London upgrade changed fee estimation and the destination of part of each transaction fee.
Crypto history
2021: Taproot changes Bitcoin's spending paths
A key spend can keep unused script conditions out of the visible transaction history.
Crypto history
2021: Tether's reserve representations face an enforcement finding
The CFTC order concerned historical statements about backing, with a defined period and a defined penalty.
Crypto history
2021: the NFT boom connects provenance, art and speculation
Beeple's auction showed the reach of tokenised ownership, while the token standard left many rights outside the contract.
Crypto history
2021–2023: Gemini Earn connects a retail interface to Genesis credit risk
The arrangement illustrates how the familiar app can be only the first link in a lending chain.
Crypto history
2022: BlockFi and the regulation of crypto interest accounts
The February enforcement settlement concerned a lending product's registration and disclosures, not a safety certification.
Crypto history
2022: Ethereum replaces mining with proof of stake
The Merge changed block production while preserving application state and the existing ETH asset.
Crypto history
2022–2025: Celsius, promised yield and CEL price support
The criminal record connected misleading safety claims with risky asset use and manipulation of the platform's token.
Crypto history
2023: Shapella enables staking withdrawals
A later upgrade supplied an exit mechanism that the Merge had not yet introduced.
Crypto history
2023: USDC's peg encounters a banking failure
A cash-backed token can trade below its target when access to part of its reserve becomes uncertain.
Crypto history
2024: Dencun gives rollups a separate data market
Blob transactions reduced one component of rollup costs without turning every layer 2 into the same security model.
Crypto history
2024: US spot Bitcoin ETPs change the access route
Exchange-traded exposure brought a familiar securities wrapper around an asset still held through a custody chain.
Crypto history
2025: the Bybit theft and the limits of a transaction signature
The FBI's attribution record documents a major theft; a valid signature alone does not establish informed approval.
Control & evidence · Web2 and Web3 dependencies
A decentralised chain can still have a fragile front door
Domains, browsers, hosting, RPC providers and indexers sit between a user and the chain. Their failures are not all consensus failures.
Wallets & security
A running chain can have an inaccessible app
Websites, RPC providers, DNS and indexers remain operational dependencies.
Market structure
A ticker is not an asset identifier
The chain and contract or mint establish which token is being discussed.
Blockchain fundamentals
A transaction's path from signature to confirmation
Signing, broadcasting, inclusion and finality are distinct events.
Wallets & security
A trusted frontend can still ask for the wrong transaction
Review the final wallet request, not only the page that produced it.
Wallets & security
A valid signature can approve the wrong action
Cryptographic validity and informed consent answer different questions.
Web fundamentals
A Web3 trust map: the chain is only one layer
A decentralised protocol can still be reached through a centralised website, RPC service and software supply chain. Map the dependencies before judging the claim.
Liquidity, prices and pool rules
Aave health factor: a moving buffer, not a safety rating
Collateral prices, debt growth and configured thresholds determine the liquidation boundary.
Scam patterns
Address poisoning and clipboard mistakes
A familiar-looking history entry can be the wrong destination.
Scam patterns
Address-poisoning transfers
An attacker creates history entries using addresses that resemble trusted counterparties.