The Rise and Fall of Bitcoin: A Brief History

1

Bitcoin, abbreviated as BTC, was the first crypto created and is, without a doubt, the most popular and valuable one today! While the concept of cryptocurrency has been around for more than 40 years, it wasn't until 2009 that it was actualized and mass adoption started. And oh boy! The 15-year journey to become one of the most valuable assets has been exhilarating! Fueled by mass adoption and use in different industries, including at online casinos such as https://mrbet-casinoplay.com/, Bitcoin remains one of the most discussed financial topics globally.

How It Started

Bitcoin's journey began on August 18, 2008, when an anonymous entity registered the domain Bitcoin.org. It paved the way for the Bitcoin white paper published on October 31, 2008, titled "Bitcoin - A peer-to-peer electronic cash system." The nine-page documents were widely shared through the cypherpunk mailing between November and December 2008. On January 3, 2009, Satoshi successfully created the Genesis Block, which was the founding block of the blockchain. However, it wasn't until January 12, 2009, that the first transaction between the late Hal Finney and Satoshi happened. He sent Finney 10 BTC to test the system while he (Finney) began mining the first blocks.

The First Highs and Lows

On February 9, 2011, after hundreds of thousands of transactions, Bitcoin finally managed to reach parity with the USD, trading at a 1:1 ratio. This saw many people jump into the frenzy and start purchasing Bitcoin, further driving the price to $31.91. However, by June 12, 2011, the price had plummeted to $10.25. This marked the first major correction in the Bitcoin community. It was worsened by the security breach of Mt Gox, a major trading platform for Bitcoin, on June 19, 2011. After a quiet six-month period, the price of BTC further dropped after news hit the internet that Paxum, a popular eWallet, had stopped accepting Bitcoin.

The Famous Bull Run

The start of 2017 marked the beginning of what would become the biggest bull run in BTC's history. The coin had already breached the $1000 mark before, but there was no stopping once it hit it again on January 2, 2017. It surged from $5000 on September 2, 2012, to $11,000 on November 29, 2017, before closing the year at $13,000.

Drop in Price

Rumors that cryptocurrencies were being banned in South Korea saw the price of Bitcoin plummet to $7000 on February 6, 2018. However, after the mass mining activities and adoption of Bitcoin in China, the price again soared to great heights, which we see today.

Bitcoin Timeline: From 1983 to Date

• 1983: The first idea of creating a digital currency was floated by David Chaum, the "godfather of cryptocurrency." He launched eCash, but it failed to pick up due to a lack of significant user adoption.
• 2008: The white paper Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System was published by Satoshi Nakamoto, the anonymous founder of Bitcoin.
• 2009: BTC is created, becoming the first-ever decentralized currency.
• 2013: Forbes declares Bitcoin as the best investment to make for the year 2013. This statement is still true to date.
• 2014: Bitcoin is declared as the worst investment to make for the year 2014 by Bloomberg.
• January 2024: The SEC approves the first 11 spot Bitcoin ETFs.

What Does the Future Have for Bitcoin?

Judging from past experiences, predicting how BTC will perform in the future will be a Herculean task! However, you may take comfort in knowing that the price will only increase rather than decrease. At the time of writing this, only 1,213,512.5BTC remain, meaning 94.221% of the total Bitcoins have already been mined. You don't have to purchase a whole coin, but you can set yourself up to be one of the few people to hold Bitcoin in the future by investing some money into it!