According to Eric Balchunas, he asked when the first reporter wrote about Bitcoin amid the 2008 financial crisis and just before the U.S. election, seeking who first noticed it and when (source: Eric Balchunas, X, Oct 6, 2025). Bitcoin’s whitepaper was released on Oct 31, 2008, providing the technical foundation during the peak of the GFC and days before the 2008 U.S. presidential vote (source: Satoshi Nakamoto, Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System, 2008). Early, widely documented media mentions include Slashdot’s coverage in July 2010 on Bitcoin as an open-source cryptographic currency, Gawker’s June 2011 Silk Road exposé that pushed Bitcoin into mainstream view, and The New Yorker’s October 2011 profile that broadened public awareness (sources: Slashdot, July 2010; Adrian Chen, Gawker, June 2011; Joshua Davis, The New Yorker, Oct 2011). Empirical research links attention shocks to higher short-term BTC returns and activity, so traders should monitor credible media references and search interest as catalysts (sources: Yukun Liu and Aleh Tsyvinski, Journal of Finance, 2021; Ladislav Kristoufek, Scientific Reports, 2013).