Bitcoin turns 16: How crypto coin went from zero to trillion-dollar asset, explained in 10 points

Bitcoin is now 16 years old. If we were to choose the best-performing asset of the past decade, there is no doubt that Bitcoin would rank first. From being worthless to a market value of over $2 trillion, Bitcoin has grown extensively in the last 16 years, so much so that Bitcoin has been the best-performing asset class in the past 11 years, data shows.

From being dismissed as an experiment or a fad to becoming a trillion-dollar asset, Bitcoin has reshaped finance and technology since its launch in 2009. As the OG-crypto coin turns 16, let's understand the key moments that defined the journey of Bitcoin:

-Satoshi Nakamoto, a name used by the creator (or creators) of Bitcoin, mined the first Bitcoin block on Jan. 3, 2009. This “genesis” block followed the release of a Bitcoin whitepaper on October 31, 2008, which laid the foundation for the now-leading cryptocurrency.


-In 2010, Laszlo Hanyecz bought two pizzas for 10,000 BTC—valued at millions of dollars today. This day is now celebrated as Bitcoin Pizza Day, reported CNBC TV18.

-A year later, for the first time ever Bitcoin reached parity with the US dollar with 1 BTC valued at $1. The Silk Road marketplace popularised Bitcoin for online transactions, sparking regulatory concerns.

-Bitcoin’s market capitalisation crossed $1 billion in 2013. Same year in November, BTC hit $1,000 for the first time, drawing global attention.

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-In 2017, Bitcoin mania hype took over the market as its price skyrocketed to nearly $20,000, marking its first mainstream investment boom. Interest in cryptocurrencies surged globally, but the market soon corrected, CNBC reported.

-Entering 2020, the uncertainty brought by the COVID-19 pandemic to the global economy marked another important moment for the cryptocurrency market. Bitcoin began to shine like digital gold. As the Federal Reserve printed trillions of dollars to combat the pandemic, many investors turned their attention to Bitcoin, making it a new financial force capable of countering inflation.

-Seeing the popularity of Bitcoin, companies like MicroStrategy and Square started adding Bitcoin to their corporate reserves. Bitcoin emerged as a ‘digital gold’ hedge against inflation.

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-Bitcoin got a big boost in 2021 when El Salvador became the first country to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender.Bitcoin hit an all-time high of $69,000.

-Bitcoin plummeted below $20,000 during the crypto winter, triggered by the Terra-LUNA crash and the collapse of the FTX exchange.

-In January 2024, the first US spot Bitcoin ETFs were approved, opening the doors for institutional investment. In December last year, Bitcoin crossed the $100,000 mark for the first time, driven by ETF optimism and increasing institutional interest.