On this day in history: 17 years ago, Satoshi Nakamoto released Bitcoin v0.1 Alpha 17 years ago today, on January 17, 2009, Satoshi Nakamoto launched the first version of the Bitcoin client, Bitcoin v0.1 Alpha, allowing anyone to start their own node from any computer. Reportedly, the source code of Bitcoin 0.1.0 also included an Internet Relay Chat (IRC) client, designed to create a simpler way to guide and deliver messages. Additionally, it contained a framework for creating a virtual poker game, which was added to the Bitcoin version on April 16, 2008, but was completely removed after Bitcoin version 0.8.2.