Seventeen years ago, the anonymous developer of Bitcoin created the initial block on the network. Over these years, the experimental coin has grown into an asset valued in the billions of dollars.
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Seventeen years ago, on January 3, 2009, the first block of transactions on the Bitcoin network, known as the Genesis Block, was mined. It was created on a small server in Helsinki, and the reward for mining it was 50 bitcoins.
The Genesis Block is the very first block in blockchains, which are open ledgers of sequentially recorded transaction blocks. The Genesis Block is essential for establishing the foundation for recording subsequent blocks.
The Genesis Block contained a header from a The Times newspaper article: “Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks.” The article in the publication described the preparation by the British government for a second round of rescue for banks affected by the 2008 global financial crisis.
It is thought that the anonymous creator of Bitcoin, known by the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto, made a reference to the 2008 global financial crisis, implying that Bitcoin was created as an alternative to the traditional financial system.
The identity of the anonymous Bitcoin creator has become shrouded in theories and speculations about who truly hid behind the name Satoshi Nakamoto. Speculation surrounding Satoshi Nakamoto’s identity intensifies along with the growth of the main cryptocurrency. However, years of investigations and numerous theories about the amount of cryptocurrency Satoshi might hold have not led to definitive answers.
The Bitcoin creator has not appeared publicly for exactly 15 years. Where Satoshi disappeared
Despite the launch of the Bitcoin network in early January, the first transaction of the main cryptocurrency occurred more than a week after the creation of the first block—on January 12, 2009, in block 170, 10 BTC were sent from Satoshi Nakamoto to developer Hal Finney.
Bitcoin Growth Waves
At that moment, Bitcoin had no value, and the first known commercial deal only took place in October 2009 at a price of 5050 BTC for $5.02 (or $0.001 per 1 bitcoin)—the operation was conducted via the NewLibertyStandard platform, with payment processed through PayPal.
At the current BTC price of about $89k, these coins would be worth almost $450 million—a growth of approximately 450 billion times. For 1 BTC to reach the $1 price, the coin needed about two years—on February 9, 2011, quotes first equaled the dollar in worth.
On April 16 of the same year, a major publication wrote about the new asset for the first time—Time magazine published a piece on Bitcoin when the currency’s total capitalization reached $10 million. In April 2013, the Bitcoin price first surpassed $100 per coin, with its total capitalization being only around $1 billion. By the end of 2013, quotes first exceeded $1k, after which they sharply dropped to $100.
At that time, Bitcoin traded on only a few exchanges, and purchasing BTC was an extremely problematic endeavor for major investors. As Dan Morehead, founder of the first Bitcoin fund Pantera Capital, recalled, the daily limit for purchasing Bitcoin on Coinbase in 2013 was just $50.
“Almost had a heart attack.” What happened with Bitcoin more than 10 years ago
Morehead also noted that in those years, investing in Bitcoin was not customary. Especially after the 87% collapse in early December 2013. Attracting investors to put money into Bitcoin was accompanied by significant hardships.
It took about four years to reach the next round figure of $10k—it was achieved in November 2017 during the ICO boom (analogous to IPO) and retail activity in the market. The peak of this growth cycle reached $17.2k, after which quotes tumbled to $3k.
Bitcoin exchanged the $50k level already at the beginning of 2021 during the first wave of institutional investor activity, with a peak price of $69k in that growth cycle. This was followed by a decline due to a series of crises: the collapse of the Terra (LUNA) crypto project, the bankruptcy of the FTX crypto exchange, and the tightening of monetary policy by the US Federal Reserve led to a 67% decrease.
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Reaching the $100k barrier required a few more years—it was achieved at the end of December 2024 amid general excitement following Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential election and demand for cryptocurrencies from exchange-traded funds in the US.
The historical price peak occurred in October 2025 at $126.2k per Bitcoin. The current price is around the $89k mark, and the asset’s market capitalization stands at $1.77 trillion. The price has fallen by approximately 30% from its peak.
In 2026, Bitcoin is one of the most favored assets globally, seriously considered by financial organizations and even states: from El Salvador and Bhutan to the US, where a state Bitcoin reserve has been formed.
The largest banks and asset management firms worldwide have begun or plan to offer institutional-level services based on Bitcoin—this includes JPMorgan, the largest management companies BlackRock, Vanguard, and many others.
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