比特币如何超越其前辈：Ecash、E-gold、Liberty Reserve 和 Q Coins

比特币并不是数字货币的第一次尝试。在其首次亮相的几年前，出现了一些系统，所有这些系统都在努力创造新的、去中心化的转账方式。

Before bitcoin stole the show, several digital currencies attempted to revolutionize the way we exchange value, but none could stand the test of time. Ecash, E-gold, Liberty Reserve, and Q coins each had their moment, only to fall short in the end. This article explores their stories and reveals how bitcoin, introduced by Satoshi Nakamoto in 2008, managed to outlive these early digital money experiments.

在比特币大出风头之前，有几种数字货币试图彻底改变我们交换价值的方式，但没有一种能经受住时间的考验。 Ecash、E-gold、Liberty Reserve 和 Q 币都曾有过辉煌，但最终都功亏一篑。本文探讨了他们的故事，并揭示了中本聪 (Satoshi Nakamoto) 于 2008 年推出的比特币如何成功地超越了这些早期的数字货币实验。

Bitcoin wasn’t the first attempt at a digital currency. Years before its debut, a handful of systems emerged, each striving to create new, decentralized methods of transferring money. Ecash, E-gold, Liberty Reserve, and Q coins were among the early innovators. Though each system had its own strengths and unique ideas, they couldn’t avoid the pitfalls of legal trouble, centralization, or lack of trust. On the other hand, bitcoin (BTC) was able to navigate these hurdles, establishing itself as a superior form of digital currency.

比特币并不是数字货币的第一次尝试。在其首次亮相的几年前，出现了一些系统，每个系统都致力于创造新的、去中心化的转账方法。 Ecash、E-gold、Liberty Reserve 和 Q 币都是早期的创新者。尽管每个系统都有自己的优势和独特的想法，但它们都无法避免法律麻烦、中心化或缺乏信任的陷阱。另一方面，比特币（BTC）能够克服这些障碍，成为一种优越的数字货币形式。

Ecash (1990)

电子现金 (1990)

Ecash kicked off the digital currency era in 1990, created by cryptographer David Chaum through his company, Digicash. Based on the novel concept of “blinded” cryptography, it allowed users to make anonymous transactions. Ecash’s goal was simple: let people transfer funds without revealing their identity, offering a private way to pay online.

Ecash 于 1990 年由密码学家 David Chaum 通过他的公司 Digicash 创建，开启了数字货币时代。基于“盲”密码学的新颖概念，它允许用户进行匿名交易。 Ecash 的目标很简单：让人们在不透露身份的情况下转移资金，提供一种私密的在线支付方式。

However, Ecash had one major weakness—it was centralized. Users had to rely entirely on Digicash to manage the currency, which left the system vulnerable. Without widespread adoption and running low on funds, Digicash filed for bankruptcy in 1998, and Ecash quietly disappeared.

然而，Ecash 有一个主要弱点——它是中心化的。用户必须完全依赖 Digicash 来管理货币，这使得系统容易受到攻击。由于未能得到广泛采用且资金不足，Digicash 于 1998 年申请破产，Ecash 悄然消失。

E-gold (1996)

电子黄金 (1996)

Launched in 1996 by Douglas Jackson and Barry Downey, E-gold took a different approach by backing its digital currency with physical gold. It allowed users to transfer gold electronically, with the platform acting as a custodian for the assets. Fans of E-gold appreciated its ability to facilitate international transactions without needing traditional banks.

E-gold 由道格拉斯·杰克逊 (Douglas Jackson) 和巴里·唐尼 (Barry Downey) 于 1996 年推出，采取了不同的方法，用实物黄金支持其数字货币。它允许用户以电子方式转移黄金，该平台充当资产的托管人。 E-gold 的粉丝赞赏其无需传统银行即可促进国际交易的能力。

But like Ecash, E-gold’s centralized structure became its undoing. The platform allegedly became a haven for illegal activities, drawing the attention of U.S. regulators. In 2008, after its founders faced criminal charges for unlicensed money transfers, E-gold was forced to shut down.

但与 Ecash 一样，E-gold 的中心化结构也导致了它的失败。该平台据称成为非法活动的避风港，引起了美国监管机构的关注。 2008 年，在其创始人因未经许可的转账而面临刑事指控后，E-gold 被迫关闭。

Liberty Reserve (2006)

自由储备 (2006)

Founded by Arthur Budovsky in 2006, Liberty Reserve aimed to make cross-border payments easy and anonymous. Users could send money using Liberty Reserve units, pegged to major currencies like the U.S. dollar. While it became popular, it also attracted the wrong kind of attention—like E-gold, it reportedly became a magnet for illicit transactions.

Liberty Reserve 由 Arthur Budovsky 于 2006 年创立，旨在让跨境支付变得简单且匿名。用户可以使用与美元等主要货币挂钩的自由储备单位汇款。虽然它变得流行，但它也引起了错误的关注——就像电子黄金一样，据报道它成为了非法交易的磁石。

By 2013, Liberty Reserve was at the center of a massive money laundering scandal launched by the U.S. government, of course, involving over $6 billion in illegal transactions. Budovsky was arrested, and the platform was seized by law enforcement, putting an end to its run.

到 2013 年，自由储备银行已成为美国政府发起的大规模洗钱丑闻的中心，当然，涉及超过 60 亿美元的非法交易。布多夫斯基被捕，该平台被执法部门查封，结束了它的运行。

Q Coins (Early 2000s)

Q 币（2000 年代初）

Introduced in the early 2000s by Chinese tech giant Tencent, Q coins were initially meant for in-app purchases on its QQ messaging platform. Users could buy Q coins with yuan to access virtual goods, and as their popularity soared, they started to be used outside the platform, fueling a mini-economy. Once again, a government also decided it had enough of the Q coin economy.

Q 币由中国科技巨头腾讯于 2000 年代初推出，最初用于其 QQ 消息平台上的应用内购买。用户可以用人民币购买Q币来获取虚拟商品，随着Q币人气的飙升，Q币开始在平台外使用，催生了迷你经济。政府也再次决定对 Q 币经济感到厌倦。

Regulators in China weren’t thrilled about Q coins’ growing influence. Concerns over the currency’s lack of regulation (the usual government complaint) led to increased restrictions, which ultimately limited Q coins’ potential to become a broader form of digital currency.

中国监管机构对 Q 币日益增长的影响力并不感到兴奋。对货币缺乏监管的担忧（通常是政府抱怨）导致限制增加，最终限制了 Q 币成为更广泛形式的数字货币的潜力。

Why Bitcoin Succeeded Where Others Failed

为什么比特币在其他人失败的地方取得了成功

The fatal flaw shared by Ecash, E-gold, Liberty Reserve, and Q coins was centralization. Each relied on a single authority to operate, which made them easy targets for shutdowns and legal problems. Bitcoin, however, solved this issue by decentralizing control. Designed by the mysterious Satoshi Nakamoto, bitcoin runs on a peer-to-peer network, free from dependence on any single entity.

Ecash、E-gold、Liberty Reserve 和 Q 币共有的致命缺陷是中心化。每个公司都依赖单一的权力机构来运营，这使得它们很容易成为关闭和法律问题的目标。然而，比特币通过分散控制解决了这个问题。比特币由神秘的中本聪设计，运行在点对点网络上，不依赖于任何单一实体。

Bitcoin’s decentralization comes from its blockchain technology, where transactions are verified by a global network of public and private nodes and miners verifying transactions. This makes it much harder to censor, seize, or shut down compared to its predecessors. Plus, bitcoin’s supply is capped at 21 million coins, makes it more immune to inflationary pressures—a feature that fiat-based digital currencies like Q coins can’t offer.

比特币的去中心化来自于其区块链技术，其中交易由公共和私人节点以及验证交易的矿工组成的全球网络进行验证。与之前的版本相比，这使得审查、扣押或关闭变得更加困难。此外，比特币的供应量上限为 2100 万枚，这使其更能抵御通胀压力——这是 Q 币等基于法定数字货币所无法提供的功能。

Unlike the earlier digital currencies, bitcoin uses a transparent, public ledger, so anyone can verify transactions without needing to trust a central authority. This blend of decentralization, transparency, and security has helped bitcoin cement its status as a strong and reliable digital currency. Moreover, as the network approaches its 16th year of life, bitcoin is now the

与早期的数字货币不同，比特币使用透明的公共分类账，因此任何人都可以验证交易，而无需信任中央机构。这种去中心化、透明性和安全性的结合帮助比特币巩固了其作为强大而可靠的数字货币的地位。此外，随着该网络的生命周期接近第 16 个年头，比特币现在已成为