Bitcoin celebrates 10th anniversary against all odds

[Shawn Knight]

Why it matters: Bitcoin's rise from irrelevance to the world's leading cryptocurrency and the influence it has had on finance and security (blockchain tech) is nothing short of miraculous. A decade is an eternity in tech time and the fact that is still around (and worth quite a bit) is very telling.

A mysterious figure by the name of Satoshi Nakamoto mined the first block of the Bitcoin blockchain – the genesis block – on January 3, 2009. On Thursday, the tumultuous cryptocurrency celebrated its 10th anniversary.

Driven by a desire to create a decentralized currency, Bitcoin somehow managed to skirt irrelevancy and overcome volatility, ties to criminal activity, theft, fraud and more.

In its early days, Bitcoin was little more than a novelty among computer enthusiasts. Case in point – the first known commercial transaction took place in 2010 when programmer Laszlo Hanyecz paid 10,000 Bitcoins for two Papa John’s pizzas. Hanyecz probably thought he was getting a great deal back then; little did he know, those coins would be worth more than $37 million today.

Bitcoin (BTC) price from mid 2012 to this day

Number of Bitcoin (BTC) transactions from mid 2012 to this day

Bitcoin didn’t gain mainstream notoriety until around 2013 when its value topped $1,000 for the first time. Those gains were short-lived, however, as its value would drop by roughly 80 percent over the coming years before an incredible rally in late 2017 that pushed prices to nearly $18,000 per coin.

Values have again fallen – currently trading around $3,745 per – but if history has taught us anything, it’s that Bitcoin is highly unpredictable. A guess with regard to its future is simply that.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/78111-bitcoin-celebrates-10th-anniversary-against-all-odds.html

 

[psycros]

I know people with a get-rich-quick mentality who still think cryptocurrency is the future. The big financial firms are already dialing back or abandoning their crypto efforts, so forget about long-term legitimacy. Crypto is going to remain little more than an exchange medium for the underground economy until its backed by more than air and no longer subject to gaming by the biggest stakeholders. The real legacies of Bitcoin will be all the other uses for blockchain technology and the reduction of the global tax base. The more that crypto is employed as a B2B currency the more likely it is that we'll see governments trying to control or outlaw it.

 

[QuantumPhysics]

Cryptocurrency's problem is that it doesn't stand on its own. The DOLLAR, the Yen, the Yuan: all have an entire country backing them. The Dollar for example has a country, a military and is a reserve currency.

Cryptocurrency's only value is what its worth in Dollars, Yen, Yuan or some other base currency.

Bitcoin's rapid rise and rapid fall have shown us just how volatile cryptocurrency is.

Essentially, Bitcoin of last year, this time, was a ponzi scheme.

The US Government, IMF, PRC...they were never going to allow people "more control over their currency" or "ways around central banks".

They only have to change laws or seize accounts to show you just how powerful they are.

 

[AnonymousSurfer]

Wow it's already been 10 years? It's been 9 years for me since I first learned about BTC and damn does that make me feel old.

I think it was somewhere around $400 when I first discovered it. Still haven't bought any, but always keep a distant yet watchful eye over things. I'm less concerned about the currency aspect and much more interested in the Blockchain technology.

 

[CaptainTom]

Wow it's already been 10 years? It's been 9 years for me since I first learned about BTC and damn does that make me feel old.

I think it was somewhere around $400 when I first discovered it. Still haven't bought any, but always keep a distant yet watchful eye over things. I'm less concerned about the currency aspect and much more interested in the Blockchain technology.

Blockchain isn't any new technology. It is simply a combination of a decentralized database, a creative signature system, and many ingenious incentive systems. Nothing it uses is new, it's just creative.

Is Facebook a "technological breakthrough"? .... No. It just made good use of existing technology.

Bitcoin is a monetary innovation, but not a technological one.