The Ten years of Bitcoins
Bitcoin, the world’s first and most famous cryptocurrency, celebrated its tenth birthday this year.
Its emergence has spawned a multitude of other digital currencies, brought blockchain technology to global attention, and vexed regulators worried about its crime misuse and weakness to hacking.
The following are some major milestones in bitcoin’s first decade:
Oct. 31, 2008 The still-unidentified Satoshi Nakamoto releases a nine-page academic paper that sets out how bitcoin would work. “Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System” also gives the first description of the blockchain decentralized ledger, the technology that underpins the digital currency.
Jan. 3, 2009 Nakamoto mines the first “block” of bitcoins on the blockchain. Days later, Nakamoto sends bitcoins in its first ever transaction.
Jan. 12, 2009 The first bitcoin transaction takes place between Nakamoto and developer Hal Finney. The transaction is recorded in block 170.
Oct. 12, 2009 Martti Malmi, a software developer from Finland, sends 5,050 bitcoins for 5.02 USD to NewLibertyStandard, one of the regulars in a bitcoin forum. The transaction is realized using PayPal. The bitcoins are used to seed a new bitcoin exchange site called New Liberty Standard.
October 2009 The New Liberty Standard establishes the value of bitcoin at 1,309.03 bitcoins to 1 dollar.
February 2010 The world’s first bitcoin market is established by dwdollar.
May 22, 2010 Software developer Laszlo Hanecz buys two pizzas for 10,000 bitcoins, widely seen as the first time the digital currency is used for its intended purpose – the purchase of goods.
July 7, 2010 Bitcoin’s new software is released by the community of developers and over the next five days, there is a ten-fold increase in its exchange value, from 0.008 USD per bitcoin to 0.08 USD per bitcoin.
July 17, 2010 Mt. Gox is launched, which eventually becomes the world’s largest bitcoin exchange, prior to going bankrupt in 2014.
Nov. 28, 2013 As media attention intensifies, Bitcoin tops 1,000 USD for the first time. It falls below that level only days later, and does not reach the landmark again for over three years.
Feb. 28, 2014 Tokyo-based Mt. Gox files for bankruptcy protection after hackers steal some 850,00 bitcoins – worth around half a billion U.S. dollars, and 28 million USD in cash. The theft, the biggest of digital coins ever, underscores security flaws at exchanges and the risks faced by investors in the unregulated sector.
Aug. 1, 2017 Bitcoin’s underlying software code splits to create Bitcoin Cash, a clone of bitcoin. The move is spearheaded by bitcoin miners in China unhappy with scheduled improvements to the currency’s technology meant to increase its capacity to process transactions.
Dec. 10, 2017 Chicago exchange operators Cboe Global Markets Inc and CME Group Inc launch bitcoin futures trading, allowing professional mainstream investors to bet on the price of the digital currency.
Dec. 18, 2017 Bitcoin hits its record high of 19,666 USD on cryptocurrency exchange Bitstamp, the high water mark of a frenzied year that sees bitcoin climb by more than 1,300 percent as retail investors scramble to buy.
June 29, 2018 Bitcoin slides to its lowest level since its December peak, hurt by tighter regulatory oversight across the world and waning interest from retail investors.
Oct. 19, 2018 The global money-laundering watchdog says it will set out by next year rules for how governments should regulate cryptocurrency exchanges in a bid to stamp out the criminal use of bitcoin and other digital coins.