Bitcoin Whitepaper Turns 15!
Satoshi's Release Came on Halloween 2008 - A Brief History
Bitcoin Turns 15 - Here’s a Timeline of its Life So Far:
August 18, 2008 - The domain name bitcoin.org was registered.
October 31, 2008 - A link to a white paper authored by Satoshi Nakamoto titled Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System was posted to a cryptography mailing list. The paper is only nine pages long and is a really interesting read, to see what Satoshi’s intentions were and to think about how it has evolved over fifteen years.
January 3, 2009 - Satoshi Nakamoto implemented the bitcoin software as open-source code and released it. Satoshi also mined the first block of Bitcoin, now called the “Genesis Block.” Embedded in the block was the text “The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on Brink of Second Bailout for Banks.” (No doubt a comment on the instability and flaws in the fiat banking system.)
January 12, 2009 - Hal Finney receives the first transfer of Bitcoin when Satoshi sends him ten Bitcoins. At 10:33 PM on January 10, Finney had sent the now famous Tweet: “Running Bitcoin.”
May 22, 2010 - Programmer Laszlo Hanyecz executes the first known Bitcoin purchase when he buys two Papa John’s pizzas for 10,000 Bitcoins from Jeremy Sturdivant. (Not a typo.) No word on what toppings were included. Yes, those tokens would now be worth over $340 million. And May 22nd is celebrated each year as Bitcoin Pizza Day.
January 2011 - The first widespread tracking of Bitcoin prices starts to appear. Bitcoin starts the year at $.30 per coin, and after jumping to $31.80 in June, settles at $5.27 on December 31, 2011.
September 2012 - The Bitcoin Foundation was formed, to promote Bitcoin’s development, and also to restore its image following several scandals, particularly the Silk Road affair. Founded as an American not-for-profit, it is headquartered in Washington DC.
January 1, 2014 - Bitcoin’s price has skyrocketed to $770 per coin, representing a return of 5,600 percent in 2013. The year 2014 would see the price drop, however, to $314. Skeptics predict that Bitcoin has lust its luster. Prices level off in 2015 and rise somewhat modestly in 2016.
July 2017 - Research by the University of Cambridge estimates that there are between 3 million and 6 million user of cryptocurrencies, most of them using Bitcoin. Crypto takes off, in interest and in prices. Bitcoin’s price reaches a new all-time high of $19,783. on December 17, 2017.
February 1, 2018 - China bans trading in Bitcoin. Bitcoin falls over 25% in the ensuing five days. The percentage of Bitcoin trading in Chinese currency fell from over 90% to less that 1% in June 2018. The crypto bear market continues throughout the rest of 2018.
August 11, 2020 - MicroStrategy (MSTR) becomes the first US public company to buy Bitcoin as a reserve asset on its balance sheet. The company, led by CEO and Bitcoin evangelist (my term) Michael Saylor, invests $250 million in 21,454 coins, an average cost of $11,653. MSTR would go on to buy as much as $4.68 billion worth of Bitcoin. All in.
January 19, 2021 - Elon Musk placed the hashtag #Bitcoin in his Twitter profile, tweeting, “In retrospect, it was inevitable.” This caused Bitcoin’s price to soar by $5,000 in one hour, to $37,299. Musk later announces that Tesla would start accepting Bitcoin for car purchases, but later reverses course, saying it will hold off until Bitcoin can be mined in a more environmentally-friendly way.
September 7, 2021 - Bitcoin becomes legal tender in the nation of El Salvador, led by President Nayib Bukele. In April 2022, the Central African Republic followed suit.
November 9, 2021 - Bitcoin’s market cap reaches its all-time high of $1.28 trillion, as a single coin was trading at more than $69,000.
May 10, 2022 - The bitcoin price fell to $31,324, as a result of a collapse of a UST stablecoin experiment named Terra, with bitcoin down more than 50% since the November 2021 high. By June 13, 2022, the Celsius Network halted withdrawals and resulted in the bitcoin price falling below $20,000. Crypto winter ensues.
June 10, 2023 - Investment behemoth BlackRock files with the SEC for approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF, an exchange traded fund, which would give millions more investors the opportunity to easily and safely invest in Bitcoin. There are now more than a dozen applications on file with the SEC to offer a similar fund. Rulings are expected within three months, as the District of Columbia Court of Appeals ruled that the SEC was wrong to continue delaying decision on a proposed fund application made by Grayscale Investments and ordered the SEC to make a decision.
October 2023 - The price of Bitcoin rises, both in anticipation of the ETF approval and in reaction to the massive debt and spending of the US government. Inflation continues, fiat currency is losing value every day, and big names in the investing space are touting Bitcoin as an asset class to include in portfolios. Paul Tudor Jones, Stanley Druckenmiller, Anthony Scaramucci, Larry Fink. And others.
The Bitcoin mood is positive at this time. Thanks for reading.
Bitcoin Tools, Platforms, Podcasts:
Twitter - Follow The Bitcoin Files on Twitter at @BitcoinNewslet1 for all of my articles, commentary and links to my contributions to Bitcoin Magazine.
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Podcasts - To hear the top names in Bitcoin, and learn more than you could imagine, check out The Pomp Podcast with Anthony Pompliano, What Bitcoin Did with Peter McCormack, and The Wolf of All Streets Podcast with Scott Melker.
Issue No. 125, November 3, 2023
Rick Mulvey is a CPA, crypto consultant, and frequent contributor to Bitcoin Magazine. He writes about all things Bitcoin, and yells at the Yankees and Giants. He also runs marathons and makes wine, neither professionally.