In 2023, Bitcoin celebrated its 14th birthday. The revolution began quietly, on January 3, 2009, the genesis block of the blockchain was generated and the first 50 coins were mined. Nothing is known about the person or people who stood at the origins of the new industry except for the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto.
Cryptocurrency number 1 historically was not the first. The concept of decentralized money was formulated back in 1976 by Friedrich Hayek in his book Private Money. The first attempts to implement this concept in practice went unnoticed and were not successful. And the truth is, you do not know who Nick Szabo is and did not know anything about the Bit Gold project. Although this does not interfere in the least with exchanging ETH to BTC.
It is curious that the term cryptocurrency was not immediately attached to the new type of money. The creator and the first users called them “electronic cash”, and they began to call them cryptocurrency after the publication in Forbes in 2011. Today, Bitcoin is already seriously competing with traditional financial assets, in particular, the dollar and gold.
Major events in the history of Bitcoin
October 31, 2008
A person or group of people under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto published a white paper “Bitcoin: a decentralized electronic monetary system” online. He describes the blockchain and the principles of the functioning of a new distributed virtual currency without an issuing center.
January 3, 2009
The BTC genesis block has been created and the first 50 coins have been mined. The proof of the date is fixed in the block itself. The creator placed in it a headline from the newspaper “The Times”. Block mining rewards are progressively reduced through regular halvings. At the moment, the reward is 6.25 BTC, and the next halving is expected at the end of May 2024.
January 12, 2009
In block 170, a record appears about the first ever cryptocurrency transaction. Satoshi Nakamoto sent 10 coins to American developer Hel Finney. Hal Finney worked on the early code for Bitcoin and was the first to mine since Nakamoto himself.
October 5, 2009
The first bitcoin exchange New Liberty Standard begins to operate on the network. The first sale was made by Finnish programmer Martti Malmi. He sold 5050 BTC for $5.02. What then, what now is generally an unthinkable amount, but for exactly the opposite reasons. At the time of the launch of the exchanger, it was not clear on what basis to calculate the cost of some strange electronic codes that have no practical application.
May 22, 2010
Laszlo Heinitz buys two pizzas. A completely ordinary event, but in the end, he himself, Papa John’s pizzeria and Jeremy Sturdivent, who delivered the order, go down in the history of the blockchain industry as participants in the first purchase of a physical product for virtual money. Cryptons all over the world celebrate this day as Bitcoin Pizza Day.
July 7, 2010
Work to improve the network continues. The launch of the network upgrade pushes the price up. Within five days, the coin rises in price by 10 times. Now it costs still modest, but already quite tangible $0.08.
February 9, 2011
Bitcoin reaches parity with the US dollar. This is a sensation, a lot of people have heard about the new growing financial instrument.
November 28, 2013
The media hype is doing its job. On the crest of a wave of popularity, the coin rises in price, its price exceeds $1,000, but not for long. Recovery after falling from a record height takes three years.
August 1, 2017
The network needs to be improved, but the proposed updates are not supported by all members of the community. Chinese miners vs. As a result, a new version branches off from the original protocol – Bitcoin Cash (BCH), the first hard fork and the first altcoin.
December 10, 2017
The Chicago Board Options Exchange is launching Bitcoin futures trading. A week later, a similar instrument is launched on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, the oldest commodity exchange in the world. So Bitcoin opens a new page in its biography and becomes a tool for professionals.
January 17, 2018
There is always a place in history for “black” days. For cryptocurrencies, it was Black Tuesday. Bitcoin has more than halved in a few weeks, and then all the existing altcoins went to the bottom. The capitalization of the cryptocurrency market collapsed from $830 billion to $431 billion. Among the reasons for the drama that broke out, analysts called the stabilization of the situation in the traditional market, which provoked an outflow of capital into fiat money. Not the last role in the collapse was played by the frequent hacks of crypto-exchanges.
September 7, 2021
In El Salvador, a law came into force recognizing Bitcoin as an official means of payment on a par with the US dollar. Thus, the government planned to expand the possibility of access to financial services for all citizens of the country. However, contrary to expectations, a surge of interest in virtual money in the country did not happen.
November 10, 2021
The most recent of the sensational facts about Bitcoin is reaching an all-time high of over $69,000 per coin. However, almost immediately after reaching the peak, the market correction began, which turned into a full-fledged collapse.
And yet, neither ups nor downs are eternal. The market is showing signs of recovery, with another halving and another market cycle just around the corner. The practical application of blockchain and virtual assets is gradually expanding, society is on the verge of mass adoption of cryptocurrencies. Digital assets are becoming commonplace, although there are still many sensations ahead of us.
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