On January 3rd, 2009 the first Bitcoin block was mined by Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of the currency.

But, one moment? What's the difference between the White Paper and the Genesis Block?

The White Paper was the publication of the document that describes how Bitcoin works and the technologies used by it, it was the formal presentation of the idea to the community, who had the opportunity not only to get to know this new technology first hand, but also to make criticisms and contribute with suggestions and improvements. Months after the publication, the Bitcoin network went live and on January 3rd, 2009 had its first block mined.

The first block is known as Genesis Block. This block contained the following message:

"The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks"

The mention of the headline in the British newspaper The Times that day is not accidental. It is, in fact, a hint of Satoshi's critical view of the banking system and the financial disorder that reigned at the time. In this context, the Bitcoin project was an attempt to respond to the financial instability caused by decades of state currency monopoly and a fractional reserve banking system.