From Whitepaper to World Reserve Asset
Trace every major milestone in Bitcoin's journey — from an anonymous email to a cryptography mailing list, to legal tender in sovereign nations and a fixture in global financial markets.
Satoshi Nakamoto emails a 9-page document — "Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System" — to the Cryptography Mailing List. It describes a system for electronic transactions that does not require trust in a central party, solving the double-spend problem using a proof-of-work blockchain.
Satoshi mines the first Bitcoin block — Block 0, known as the "Genesis Block." Embedded in its coinbase transaction is the text: "The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks" — a headline from that day's Times of London, widely seen as commentary on the failure of the traditional financial system.
Satoshi releases the first version of the Bitcoin software on SourceForge. The network officially launches. The software runs on Windows and allows anyone with a computer to begin mining Bitcoin.
Satoshi sends 10 BTC to cryptographer Hal Finney — the first peer-to-peer Bitcoin transaction in history. Finney had downloaded the software the day it was released and became one of the earliest active participants in the network.
Programmer Laszlo Hanyecz pays 10,000 BTC for two Papa John's pizzas — the first known commercial transaction using Bitcoin. At the time, the coins were worth roughly $41. At Bitcoin's peak value, those same coins were worth over $600 million. May 22 is now celebrated annually as "Bitcoin Pizza Day."
The Mt. Gox exchange launches, quickly becoming the world's dominant Bitcoin trading platform. By 2013 it handles over 70% of all global Bitcoin transactions. Its later collapse in 2014 would become one of the most consequential events in crypto history.
Satoshi sends a final email to developer Gavin Andresen: "I've moved on to other things. It's in good hands with Gavin and everyone." No confirmed communication from Satoshi has been received since. Control of the Bitcoin project passes to the developer community.
Bitcoin achieves parity with the US dollar for the first time, trading at $1 per BTC. This milestone, though modest by later standards, was a symbolic moment that attracted significant media and developer attention.
Charlie Lee launches Litecoin — the first major Bitcoin fork and "altcoin." It uses a different hashing algorithm and faster block times. Litecoin demonstrates that Bitcoin's open-source code could be forked and modified, opening the door to thousands of alternative cryptocurrencies.
Bitcoin crosses $1,000 for the first time, driven partly by growing interest in China. The milestone attracts mainstream media coverage worldwide and a wave of new investors and developers into the ecosystem.
Mt. Gox — then the world's largest Bitcoin exchange — suspends trading, files for bankruptcy, and announces that approximately 850,000 BTC (worth ~$450 million at the time) had been stolen through a years-long hack. The collapse devastates the market and shakes public confidence in Bitcoin exchanges.
Vitalik Buterin's Ethereum network goes live, introducing programmable "smart contracts" to blockchain technology. Ethereum becomes the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap and spawns an entirely new ecosystem of decentralized finance and applications.
Bitcoin hits an all-time high of nearly $20,000 during a massive bull run fueled by retail speculation. Bitcoin futures begin trading on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME), marking a milestone in institutional legitimacy. A dramatic correction follows in early 2018.
PayPal announces support for buying, selling, and holding Bitcoin (and other cryptocurrencies) for its 346 million users worldwide. The announcement is seen as a major step toward mainstream financial adoption.
Tesla discloses that it has purchased $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin and will accept it as payment for vehicles. The announcement sends Bitcoin's price surging. MicroStrategy, Square, and other public companies also begin holding Bitcoin on their balance sheets.
Bitcoin sets a new all-time high of approximately $69,000, driven by institutional adoption, ETF speculation, and macroeconomic inflation concerns. Total crypto market cap briefly exceeds $3 trillion.
El Salvador becomes the first country in the world to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender under President Nayib Bukele. All businesses are required to accept Bitcoin for payments. The move draws both praise and criticism from economists and international institutions.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission approves the first spot Bitcoin ETFs, allowing ordinary investors to gain exposure to Bitcoin through traditional brokerage accounts. BlackRock, Fidelity, and other asset managers launch Bitcoin ETFs that collectively attract billions in inflows within days of launch.
Bitcoin's fourth "halving" event reduces the block reward from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC. Halvings occur roughly every four years and reduce the rate at which new Bitcoin is created, enforcing Bitcoin's hard cap of 21 million coins. Historically, halvings have preceded significant price appreciation.