Bitcoin (BTC) is the first decentralized cryptocurrency and has a fascinating history:
2008: The Beginning
Whitepaper Release: On October 31, 2008, a person or group under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto released the Bitcoin whitepaper titled "Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System."
The paper proposed a system for electronic transactions without relying on trust or centralized institutions.
2009: Launch
January 3, 2009: The Genesis Block (Block 0) was mined, with the message:
"The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks"
January 9, 2009: The first Bitcoin software was released.
January 12, 2009: The first Bitcoin transaction took place between Satoshi Nakamoto and developer Hal Finney.
2010: First Real-World Transaction
May 22, 2010: Known as Bitcoin Pizza Day – Laszlo Hanyecz paid 10,000 BTC for two pizzas, marking the first real-world BTC purchase.
BTC Price: Grew from virtually zero to around $0.08 by mid-2010.
2011–2013: Growing Attention
2011: Bitcoin reached parity with the US dollar (1 BTC = $1).
Alternative cryptocurrencies like Litecoin and Namecoin began appearing.
2013: Price surged past $200, then crashed after exchange issues like Mt. Gox outages.
2014–2016: Scandals and Steady Growth
2014: Mt. Gox, then the largest Bitcoin exchange, was hacked, losing over 850,000 BTC.
Regulatory scrutiny increased, but development continued steadily.
The concept of blockchain gained broader interest beyond crypto.
2017: Mainstream Breakthrough
BTC surged from around $1,000 in January to nearly $20,000 in December.
Interest from institutional investors and media coverage soared.
Bitcoin futures trading launched on CME and CBOE.
2018–2019: Bear Market and Building
The market corrected, with BTC dropping below $4,000.
Development of second-layer technologies like Lightning Network progressed.
Growing institutional interest laid the groundwork for future rallies.
2020–2021: Institutional Adoption and ATH
COVID-19 sparked economic uncertainty, boosting BTC's role as "digital gold."
