Below is my first post on Nostr: The Enduring Success of Bitcoin: Key Factors Behind Its Persistence. The idea of Bitcoin was introduced in 2008 by an unknown person or entity using the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto. Over time, Bitcoin has been called fake money, Dark web currency, the currency of criminals, a greater fool game, a Ponzi scheme, and many more. But curiously enough, its value—although highly volatile—continues to increase, and more people are adopting it as time passes. To explain this contradiction, I decided to try and understand the core principles behind it. The following are the reasons that, in my opinion, are responsible for its success:Bitcoin is the first implementation of a trustless payment system: Unlike traditional payment systems, any person or entity can participate in the transaction authorization process. The different stakeholders inside the network can trust the network without the need to know each other. This trust is guaranteed by the proof of work mechanism.Bitcoin is the first global digital currency: Bitcoin enables people to make cross-border transactions at record times and with low transaction fees.Bitcoin is an easy and clear protocol: As a software engineer, I always thought that Bitcoin was complicated and hard to understand, until I decided to dive into it. What I found out is that it was a simple protocol, easy to understand, and that it addresses all the scenarios of decentralized transaction processing in an elegant way.Bitcoin is the bank of the bankless: All you need to have a bitcoin wallet is a private and public key pair. This technology allows people who are unable to have a bank account to be part of the financial system using only math as paperwork. How beautiful is that!Bitcoin is property: Bitcoin puts the money back in the owner's pocket. As opposed to the banking system clients, the bitcoin owner's assets are always under their disposal, and they can use them at any time without the need for a financial institution's approval.Bitcoin is transparent: All transactions made in the Bitcoin network are public and can be verified by anyone with access to the blockchain.In conclusion, Bitcoin has many characteristics that make it a unique and interesting solution to a real-life problem. It's a new technology that should be taken seriously, as it has the potential to transform the financial system.