History of Bitcoin

Since its market high of almost $20,000 on 17th December 2017, Bitcoin’s market price appears to have been in an irreversible freefall. At the time of writing, its value has been dropping for 49 consecutive days, having lost 64.5% in that period, reaching its current low of just over $8,000 per coin. Indeed, many casual observers of the industry have said that it is a sign that the Bitcoin bubble has finally burst, and the sector will not recover.

The history of Bitcoin has been a litany of steep rises, followed by sharp drops, and a defined period of correction.

As early as January 2012, when it was still in its relative infancy and trading at a mere $7.38 per coin, Bitcoin suffered its first major crash, dropping in value to $3.80 (or almost 50%) over the course of just over a fortnight.

Bitcoin rebounded in style, as it always does, and peaked again just over six months later at around double its previous high, only to be struck down by another crash. Thought shorter-lived than the January debacle (Bitcoin turned things around in three days), the dive was steeper, knocking 57% off the currency’s value in that space of time.

1998 – 2009 The pre-Bitcoin years

Although Bitcoin was the first established cryptocurrency, there had been previous attempts at creating online currencies with ledgers secured by encryption. Two examples of these were B-Money and Bit Gold, which were formulated but never fully developed.

2008 – The Mysterious Mr Nakamoto

A paper called Bitcoin – A Peer to Peer Electronic Cash System was posted to a mailing list discussion on cryptography. It was posted by someone calling themselves Satoshi Nakamoto, whose real identity remains a mystery to this day.

2009 – Bitcoin begins

The Bitcoin software is made available to the public for the first time and mining – the process through which new Bitcoins are created and transactions are recorded and verified on the blockchain – begins.

How Much was 1 Bitcoin Worth in 2009?

Bitcoin was not traded on any exchanges in 2009. Its first recorded price was in 2010. Technically, Bitcoin was worth $0 in 2009 during its very first year of existence!

How Much was 1 Bitcoin Worth in 2010?

Bitcoin's price never topped $1 in 2010! Its highest price for the year was just $0.39!