Introduction
The first of its kind of cryptocurrency that wanted to decentralize world finance was Bitcoin. Back in 2009, when Nakamoto created bitcoin, nobody estimated the monster it would turn into after a decade. With the current market price above 68000 USD dollars for one bitcoin, it stands as the costliest cryptocurrency. Though many people know about its existence, what is unknown to many is its dramatic journey from 2009 to 2021. This article will try to explain some of this journey for the readers.
Birth
The birth of Bitcoin took place in many steps. Wei Dei had described it as a prototype in 1998 on the cyberpunks mailing list.
The events occurred in the following order:
18th August 2008: registration of the website domain (bitcoin.org).
31st October 2008: Nakamoto uploaded a blog post regarding the functionality of bitcoin and its advantages over a centralized banking system on the site.
3rd January 2009: Satoshi Nakamoto releases the first block of bitcoin, containing 50 bitcoins. Since it was the first block, people started referring to it as Genesis block.
9th January 2009: Bitcoin mining started officially. Nakamoto mined the first block.
12th January 2009: the first trade of ten bitcoins occurred between Satoshi Nakamoto and an early Bitcoin enthusiast Hal Finney
Rise and fall of BTC
- The world slowly started to get aware of the existence of bitcoins. The first real-world transaction of Bitcoin occurred when a man used 10000 bitcoins to buy two pizzas from Papa John’s. If the person had held onto these 10000 bitcoins until today, the number of coins would amount to 684 million dollars. For further details, have a look at bitcoinpro
- The first loophole and vulnerability of BTC were exposed in 2010 when a surge in the generation of over 180 billion bitcoins occurred in two different addresses. The transaction was located and erased, but the whole world knew that Bitcoin has its flaws and is not entirely secure.
- The value of Bitcoin started to increase slowly. Gradually organizations like WikiLeaks began to accept donations in the form of Bitcoin in 2011.
- In 2012, a CNBC host talked about bitcoins on national television. This was a big step, as people who were dilemmatic about the legitimacy of Bitcoin started to believe in it.
- Many cryptocurrency exchanges had grown in between these years for people to trade bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies.
- Just as different organizations started to accept Bitcoin as legal and official payment media, the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network in the US issued a notice against the use of bitcoins for payment purposes.
- In 2013, the drug enforcement administration ceased 11 bitcoins that hackers used for illegal activities. The following year Warren Buffett called bitcoin a mirage, referring to it as a useless commodity.
- By 2016, Bitcoin had established itself as a game-changer in the market and marked its territory with a considerable market cap valuation. It was around this time that hackers stole 120000 BTC, worth 60 million dollars in 2016. This activity again raised a question on the security of this blockchain technology.
- Since a lot of illegal activity was happening around the anonymity factor of bitcoins, South Korea issued a regulation that anyone trading in bitcoins should reveal their identity in 2018.
Independence period
Present scenario
In 2021, bitcoin saw an inevitable price drop below 60000 dollars. Every other cryptocurrency, too, had its prices dropped, as many investors were cashing out after Elon Musk tweeted regarding the negative impact of Bitcoin mining on the environment.
Today, in November 2021, Bitcoin has again reason to a valuation of $68000 per coin. It is still their highest selling and valued cryptocurrency among the thousands of others daily added to circulation.
Conclusion
Everybody’s idea on the legitimacy of Bitcoin as an established commodity varies. But one point that no one can neglect or deny is the enormous market valuation it has created on its own without any help from centralized authorities. Blockchain technology has taken a toll on world finance, introducing Bitcoin as an essential factor. Although it sounds profoundly luring, one must be entirely sure and well researched before investing in the crypto market, as it is still at a very early stage.
