Financial history: how did digital payments and cryptocurrency come about?

Today many people may not hold cash in their hands for a whole week: their salary goes onto a card and purchases are paid for by phone. This is the newest chapter in the history of money: money is becoming more and more "invisible".

1. Money has become an entry. Most of today's money is not banknotes but electronic entries in bank accounts. Cards, internet banking and mobile apps are tools for managing these entries.
2. Payments have sped up. Transfers that used to take several days are now often completed in a few seconds. QR codes, e-wallets and contactless cards have become the norm even in small shops.
3. The idea of Bitcoin. On 31 October 2008 an author under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto sent a paper titled "Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System" to a cryptography mailing list. The idea: payments are made without a bank or other intermediary, through a shared ledger confirmed by the network's participants.
4. The first block. The first block of the Bitcoin network was created on 3 January 2009. The headline of that day's The Times about a second bailout for banks was written into it.
5. Value and risk. The prices of cryptocurrencies can change very quickly, and not all states regulate them in the same way. That is why it is essential to check the rules in force in your country before making a financial decision.
6. An old question, a new form. From the temple storehouse to the mobile app, financial history revolves around one question: who guarantees money, and why do we trust it?

The 1980s, the 2000s and today (the general trend, the author's table):

As a result of this development, financial transactions have become cheaper and faster, but new types of risk, such as cyber fraud, have also appeared.

Example (prepared by the author, hypothetical). Jasur, the owner of the "Bahor" barbershop, counts the till at the end of the day: cash is only a part, and the rest has come into the bank account through card and QR payments. This is convenient for financial planning: every payment appears in the bank statement with its date, and calculating the daily cash flow becomes easier. But there is one condition: receipt of a payment must be confirmed not by a notification in the app but by checking it against the bank statement.