1999
The term proof of work was published by Markus Jakobsson and Ari Juels. Additionally, the now-defunct peer-to-peer file sharing program Napster contributed to the P2P network’s popularity. Because Napster relied on a centralized server, some claimed that it was not a true P2P network. However, the service helped revitalize the P2P network by enabling the development of a distributed system that could take advantage of thousands of computers’ worth of processing and storage power.
2000
The notion of cryptographically secured chains was first presented by Stefan Konst in his article “Secure Log Files Based on Cryptographically Concatenated Entries.” Modern blockchain models are based on his approach, which demonstrated that chain entries may be authenticated by tracing their origin back to the Genesis block.
