Cryptocurrency gets its name from its use of cryptography. In 1983, an American cryptographer named David Chaum developed a cryptographic system called eCash. In 1995, he developed DigiCash, a system leveraging cryptography to keep financial transactions confidential.
However, it took another three years for the term cryptocurrency to come into the picture. It was 1998 when Wei Dai, a computer engineer, and cryptographer, started thinking about a cryptography-backed payment method. His focus was on achieving decentralization.
Another 11 years later, the very enigmatic Satoshi Nakamoto came up with the concept and the eventual delivery of the world’s first cryptocurrency, Bitcoin. A magnificent story of an alternative and somewhat marginal currency’s travel to the center from the fringes followed.