When did financing begin?

Could you elaborate on the timeline of when financing in the cryptocurrency and finance landscape truly commenced? Was it a gradual evolution over several years, or was there a particular event or milestone that marked the start of significant financing activities in this field? I'm particularly interested in understanding the initial stages and the factors that contributed to the emergence of this financing ecosystem. Did it begin with individual investors, venture capital firms, or other types of financiers? And what were some of the earliest use cases or businesses that were financed using cryptocurrency-related mechanisms?