Satoshi's solution created a new way to use money in a digital form that is counterfeit-proof and can be sent directly from one person to another (“peer-to-peer”) without having to go through a financial institution.. Nakamoto was not the first to hit on the concept of cryptocurrency but was the one to solve a fundamental problem that prevented its adoption: Unlike paper currency, cryptocurrency could be duplicated . This was known as "double-spending," and Nakamoto solved it by creating the blockchain system of verification.