Cryptocurrency was introduced by an individual or group using the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto. In October 2008, Nakamoto published a white paper titled “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System,” outlining the concept of a decentralized digital currency. Subsequently, on January 9, 2009, Nakamoto released the first version of the Bitcoin software and launched the Bitcoin network by defining its genesis block.

The true identity of Satoshi Nakamoto remains unknown, and the individual or group has not been publicly identified.

While Nakamoto’s work laid the foundation for Bitcoin, the broader concept of digital currency and cryptographic electronic cash systems had been explored earlier. In 1983, American cryptographer David Chaum conceived of a type of cryptographic electronic money called ecash. Later, in 1995, he implemented it through Digicash, an early form of cryptographic electronic payments.

Therefore, while Nakamoto is credited with inventing Bitcoin and introducing the first successful cryptocurrency, the idea of digital currencies had been explored by others prior to Bitcoin’s creation.