Today is 3 January. On the calendar, it may look like an ordinary day, but in the history of technology and finance, 3 January holds a distinct place: 3 January 2009 — the day widely considered Bitcoin’s “birthday."

That day, Satoshi Nakamoto produced the first block, known as the Genesis Block (Block 0), and the Bitcoin network began functioning in practice. This was not merely the launch of a new digital asset; it was the first serious real-world implementation of the idea often described as the “internet of value.”

Why is the Genesis Block still discussed?

The most symbolic aspect of the Genesis Block is the message it contains. Referencing a newspaper headline, it is more than a timestamp — it provides context: the financial fragility of that era, a crisis of trust, and systemic risk.

This detail shows that Bitcoin has had a dual narrative from the very beginning:

  • A technical invention (creating scarcity and enabling transfer on a distributed network),

  • A social/institutional debate (trust, money, intermediaries, crises).

  • Reading Bitcoin only through its price chart means missing half the story.

What changed over 17 years?

In 2009, Bitcoin was a small experiment — a protocol run by a handful of enthusiasts, with uncertain economic value. Today, Bitcoin is a global concept and, for some institutions, a strategic asset.

There isn’t a single explanation for this transformation, but there are several key turning points:

1) It proved that it works as a technology

Bitcoin’s core claim was simple: Can a reliable value transfer system exist on a network without a central authority?

For years, this question was theoretical. Bitcoin answered it in practice — by continuing to function despite volatility, attacks, fork debates, regulatory pressure, and continuous stress-testing.

Even today, one of the clearest ways to describe Bitcoin is:

“Bitcoin’s most important feature isn’t its price; it’s a borderless network that runs 24/7 and doesn’t ask anyone for permission.”

2) It normalised the concept of “digital scarcity”

Before Bitcoin, scarcity in the digital world was a weak concept. If a file can be copied infinitely, how can scarcity exist at all? Bitcoin made scarcity possible at the protocol level.

That’s why discussions about Bitcoin often move from technology to economics and then to philosophy. Because Bitcoin is not merely “a product” — it is also “a concept.”

3) Institutional interest: from romanticism to governance

In the early years, interest in Bitcoin was largely driven by ideological factors, including freedom, decentralisation, and resistance to censorship. Today, the institutional conversation is different:

  • custody standards,

  • risk management,

  • regulatory compliance,

  • liquidity and market infrastructure,

  • Its role within a portfolio (hedge, risk asset, diversification tool?).

In other words, Bitcoin’s language has matured: from manifesto to framework, from excitement to governance.

On 3 January, what does Bitcoin remind us of?

This anniversary invites a more useful question than “Is Bitcoin right or wrong?” It calls us to remember the conditions that gave rise to Bitcoin — and the questions it reintroduced.

Personally, I see three lessons:

1) Trust can be built not only through institutions, but also through design

Banks, states, regulators — in the modern world, these are the primary producers of trust. Bitcoin offers a different proposition:

“Some forms of trust can come not from institutions, but from the transparency of rules and the auditability of the system.”

This may not apply everywhere, but it is a perspective worth debating.

2) Resilience may be the most expensive feature of all

Bitcoin has been criticised for years. It didn’t die. It didn’t disappear. It wasn’t forgotten. That alone is meaningful data.

In technology, many products survive not because they are “good,” but because they are resilient. Bitcoin’s continued presence on the table underlines the value of endurance.

3) The question “What is money?” is more alive than we assume

One of Bitcoin’s strongest impacts is that it forced people back to fundamental questions:

  • What is money?

  • Who creates it?

  • Who controls it?

  • In the digital age, what properties should money have?

There is no single answer — but the fact that these questions are being asked again is itself a significant shift.

Closing

The first block mined on January 3, 2009, marked the beginning of a debate that is still ongoing: how trust, value, and money should be organised in the digital world.

Whether we admire Bitcoin or criticise it, its historical impact is clear — if only because it made this debate visible.

Today is 3 January.
Some days are not just “calendar pages.”