The first cryptocurrency exchange was BitcoinMarket, which began operations on 17 March 2010. The site was founded by Bitcoin early adopter Dustin Dollar (USA), who proposed the idea on BitcoinTalk forum on 15 January 2010.
There were some earlier online services for Bitcoin exchange, most notably the site "NewLibertyStandard", started by the BitcoinTalk user of the same name in October 2009. These were much simpler operations, which didn't function as a traditional exchanges (i.e., a trading platform). The Bitcoin-to-fiat exchange rate on NewLibertyStandard, for example, was fixed and calculated by the founder based on typical US electricity prices and that difficulty of mining coins at the time.
BitcoinMarket was the premier exchange site for about a year, but recurring problems with fraud led to payment service PayPal blacklisting the site on 4 June 2011. The site struggled following this setback and was soon eclipsed by the now-notorious Mt. Gox exchange.
