Created to counter the 2008 financial crisis, bitcoin has weathered extreme volatility, spiking to US$19,650 in 2017 before spending years locked below US$10,000.Unveiled in late 2008, the cryptocurrency was meant to revolutionize the monetary system, and was first introduced in a white paper titled “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System.”Penned by a notoriously elusive person (or persons) who used the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto, the nine page manifesto lays out a compelling argument and groundwork for the creation of a cyber-currency.Cryptographically secured, the peer-to-peer electronic payment system was designed to be transparent and resistant to censorship. Using the power of blockchain technology to create an immutable ledger preventing double spending, the true allure for bitcoin’s early adopters was in its potential to wrestle power away from banks and financial institutes and give it to the masses.This was especially enticing as the fallout from the 2008 financial collapse ricocheted internationally. Described as the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, US$7.4 billion in value was erased from the US stock market in 11 months, while the global economy shrank by an estimated US$2 trillion.