History Of Bitcoin’s Existence
Bitcoin, sometimes described as a virtual currency or cryptocurrency that is not physical but virtual. It is built on top of blockchain technology where you can create, store, and manage digital transactions that are public, secure, and distributed. Bitcoin has made strides in its short time of existence proving that it is a fast and easy way to transact cross-border payments especially in third world countries were giving or receiving money may not be very reliable. Let’s take a look at some of the highs and lows that Bitcoin has gone through during its relatively short history.
- On October 31, 2008, Satoshi Nakamoto published Bitcoin’s whitepaper that outlines what Bitcoin is and how it works.
- The first block of Bitcoins was mined on January 3, 2009. This is known as the Genesis Block.
- Satoshi Nakamoto released the second version of the software in December of 2009.
- On May 22, 2010, the very first purchase using Bitcoins was made when Laszlo Hanyecz bought two pizza for 10,000 BTC with a total value of $45 at the time of purchase.
- On December 8, 2010, the first mobile transaction was made when “ribuck” sent “douglec” 0.42 BTC using a mobile app.
- By February 2011, Bitcoin passes the $1 threshold. By June, Bitcoin rose to over $30 but soon crashed back down to about $10. This has become known as the Great Bubble of 2011.
- The first Bitcoin application to be developed for the Apple iPad called Bitcoins Mobile happened on July 20, 2011.
Bitcoin forked for the first time creating Litecoin in October 2011.- Bitcoin’s market cap exceeded $1 million on November 6, 2011.
- Bitcoin rose above $100 in April 2012 and is becoming the world’s top digital coin.
- On May 11, 2012, Bitcoin exchange, Bitcoinica, was taken down after a hack results in over 18,000 Bitcoins being lost.
- In June of 2012, Coinbase launches and soon becomes the largest Bitcoin exchange.
- The fourth-largest US Bitcoin exchange, Bitfloor was hacked and loses 24,000 Bitcoins resulting in a pause of service as compromised servers allowed access to encrypted backup files of wallet keys.
- On November 28, 2012, the first Bitcoin halving occurred cutting the block reward in half to 25 BTC per block.
- Bitcoin spiked to just shy of $75 in March 2013 after two days of increasing almost 70 percent.
- On March 28, 2013, Bitcoin’s total market cap passed the $1 Billion mark.
- Bitcoin rises above $100 in April 2013.
- On April 10, 2013, Bitcoin makes an all-time high of $266 but then it suddenly crashed losing 71% of its value in 6 hours. It would take Bitcoin months to recover.
- Coindesk, a bitcoin-focused resource and news website was launched by Spotify investor Shakil Khan in May 2013.
- May 3, 2013, the first Bitcoin ATM was unveiled in San Diego, CA.
- In August of 2013, a judge in Texas ruled that Bitcoin was a currency.
- On October 2, 2013, the FBI shuts down the infamous Silk Road seizing 3.6 million dollars worth of bitcoins.
- December 2, 2013, saw the biggest heist in history when 96,000 Bitcoins were stolen from Sheep Marketplace, an online drug site.
- Mt. Gox, one of the largest bitcoin exchanges filed for bankruptcy protection in Japan in February of 2014 after a report stated that 744,000 bitcoins had been stolen.
- February 10-12: Transactions issues in several exchanges pushing Bitcoin’s price down 30%.
- In July of 2014, Dell starts accepting bitcoin.
- Microsoft keeping up with Dell, starts accepting bitcoin to buy Xbox games and Windows software in December.
- August 2015. It is estimated that 160,000 merchants accept bitcoin payments.
- In December 2015, an article in WIRED magazine claimed that Dr. Craig s. Wright, An Australian man was either Satoshi Nakamoto or a “brilliant hoaxer” after receiving documents that suggested this.
- In March of 2016, Japan acknowledged that Bitcoin as payments is an equal to fiat.
- In August of 2015, Bitcinex exchange was hacked. Hackers took almost 120,000 BTC.
- January 2016: Bitcoin breaks the $1,000 mark for the first time in three years.
- In August, Bitcoin split into two currencies, classic Bitcoin and Bitcoin Cash.
- China forbids Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in October of 2017
- On November 29, 2017, Bitcoin’s price rose above $10,000
- In December, Bitcoin reaches new highs coming close to $20,000.
- January 30, 2018, Facebook banns people from fully advertising bitcoin.
- February 5, 2018, Bitcoin’s price drops 50% in 16 days falling below $7,000.
- In June of 2018, South Korean exchange Coinrail lost more than $40 million in tokens after a hack.
- In November, Bitcoins price dropped below $4,000.
- On January 7, 2019, First Mimblewimble Coin launched Mainnet
- Bitcoin’s price stayed low until the end of February of 2019 when it started to positive growth.
- By early May 2019, Bitcoin rebounded to $6,000 then moved past $8,000 near the end of the month.
- On May 8, 2019, Binance exchange gets hacked for $40 million worth of Bitcoin.
- In late June, Bitcoin rose back above $10,000.
- In July Congress tells Facebook to halt its plans for its cryptocurrency Libra.
- Bakkt announced their launch date for the much-anticipated cryptocurrency futures markets.
- November 6, 2019, the Chinese government scraps plan to ban Bitcoin mining.
- After hovering above $10,000 in February of 2020, March saw Bitcoin fall below $5,000 on the 12th.
Bitcoin has had an amazing history in just a short time and with momentum building again I’m sure its future is going to continue to be a wild ride.