First blockchain
Who
Satoshi Nakamoto, Bitcoin
What
first first
Where
Not Applicable ()
When

The first blockchain was the Bitcoin blockchain, which was launched on 3 January 2009 by its pseudonymous creator, Satoshi Nakamoto.


Nakamoto had developed the idea of blockchain (sometimes called a decentralized ledger) as a solution to the problem of "double spending" in digital currencies. Previous systems had relied on a centralized authority (or "trusted third party") to make sure that transactions were legitimate, which fell short of Nakamoto's libertarian ideal of a truly unrestricted peer-to-peer currency.

A blockchain is essentially a cryptographically secure public ledger containing every single transaction that has ever been made. When new transactions happen, they are verified by the network validators, using a cryptographic hashing algorithm, and are “waiting” in a queue to be added to a block. Once a block has been approved, it is added to the chain, containing the verified transactions, and transactions are confirmed.

Blockchains are most closely associated with digital currencies, but they can be used to create decentralized applications (dApps), utilizing smart contracts, for different business use cases across different industries