Bitcoin Timeline

Start here31 Oct 2008

1. 2008

   

   Bitcoin Whitepaper: The Nine Pages Satoshi Nakamoto Posted on Halloween 2008

   On 31 October 2008, as the banks collapsed, an unknown Satoshi Nakamoto emailed a nine-page plan for money with no bank. Nobody knows who wrote it.

   31 Oct 20085 mins

   Key moments(10)

   1. Sep 15, 2008Lehman Brothers files for bankruptcy, deepening the global financial crisis
   2. Oct 31, 2008Satoshi Nakamoto emails 'Bitcoin P2P e-cash paper' to the Cryptography mailing list, linking the nine-page whitepaper
   3. Nov 2, 2008First reply: James A. Donald says the world needs such a system but doubts it can scale
   4. Jan 3, 2009The genesis block is created, carrying The Times headline about a second bank bailout
   5. Jan 8, 2009Satoshi announces version 0.1 of the Bitcoin software on the same mailing list
   6. Jan 12, 2009Satoshi sends 10 BTC to Hal Finney, the first person-to-person Bitcoin transfer
   7. Apr 2011Satoshi's last known messages; he tells colleagues he has moved on to other things
   8. Apr 2023Andy Baio finds the whitepaper hidden in every copy of macOS since 2018; Apple removes it from a beta
   9. Mar 14, 2024High Court in London rules Craig Wright is not Satoshi and did not write the whitepaper
   10. Oct 2024HBO's 'Money Electric' names Peter Todd as Satoshi; Todd denies it

2. 2009

   

   Bitcoin's Genesis Block: January 3, 2009, Where It All Starts

   On 3 January 2009 Satoshi Nakamoto created Bitcoin's first block and stamped it with a Times headline about bank bailouts. Its 50 coins can never be spent.

   3 Jan 20094 mins

   Key moments(11)

   1. Oct 31, 2008Satoshi Nakamoto publishes the Bitcoin whitepaper on a cryptography mailing list
   2. Jan 3, 2009Genesis block timestamped 18:15:05 UTC, carrying The Times headline about a second bank bailout
   3. Jan 8, 2009Satoshi announces Bitcoin v0.1 on the cryptography mailing list (9 January in UTC)
   4. Jan 9, 2009Block 1 mined at 02:54 UTC, six days after the genesis block
   5. Jan 10, 2009Hal Finney replies on the mailing list and tweets "Running bitcoin"
   6. Jan 12, 2009Block 170: the first person-to-person payment, 10 BTC from Satoshi to Hal Finney
   7. Jan 19, 2009Alistair Darling announces Britain's second bank rescue package
   8. Aug 15, 2010Value overflow bug creates about 184 billion bitcoin; fixed and the block abandoned within about five hours
   9. Apr 2011Satoshi's last known emails; the creator disappears
   10. Aug 28, 2014Hal Finney dies of ALS and is cryopreserved
   11. Oct 2026Bitcoin passes block 971,000; the genesis address holds 57+ BTC of tributes plus the original 50

3. 2010

   

   Bitcoin Pizza Day: 10,000 BTC for Two Pizzas

   In May 2010 a Florida programmer paid 10,000 bitcoin, then worth about $41, for two pizzas. The same coins later passed $1 billion.

   22 May 20104 mins

   Key moments(10)

   1. Oct 2009New Liberty Standard publishes the first bitcoin price: $1 for 1,309.03 BTC, based on electricity costs
   2. May 2010Hanyecz shows the forum how to mine bitcoin with a graphics card. Satoshi Nakamoto asks him not to push it
   3. May 18, 2010Hanyecz offers 10,000 BTC for two pizzas on the Bitcoin forum. A member values the coins at about $41
   4. May 22, 2010Jeremy Sturdivant, 19, has two Papa John's pizzas delivered to Hanyecz in Jacksonville and receives 10,000 BTC
   5. Jun 12, 2010Hanyecz calls it an open offer: 10,000 BTC for two pizzas any time
   6. Aug 4, 2010Hanyecz says he cannot afford to keep doing it. He later estimates he spent about 100,000 BTC that year
   7. Early 2011One bitcoin reaches $1 for the first time
   8. Feb 2018Hanyecz buys two pizzas again, this time over the Lightning Network for 0.00649 BTC, about $67
   9. Oct 2025Bitcoin's record high of about $126,000 values the pizza coins at about $1.26 billion
   10. Oct 16, 2026At about $82,000 a coin, the 10,000 BTC are worth about $820 million

4. 2011

   

   Silk Road: Bitcoin's First Killer App Was Illegal

   Bitcoin's first mass use was a drug market. The FBI shut Silk Road in 2013, its founder served 11 years, and Trump pardoned him in 2025.

   1 Feb 20115 mins

   Key moments(13)

   1. Jan 2011Silk Road opens on the Tor network, taking payment only in bitcoin
   2. Jun 1, 2011Gawker article by Adrian Chen makes the site famous. Traffic and bitcoin demand jump
   3. Oct 1, 2013Ross Ulbricht arrested at Glen Park library, San Francisco. FBI shuts the site and seizes about 174,000 BTC
   4. Jun 2014US Marshals auction about 29,656 seized BTC. Tim Draper buys the whole lot
   5. Feb 2015Jury convicts Ulbricht on all seven counts
   6. May 29, 2015Judge Katherine Forrest sentences him to life without parole and a $183.9M forfeiture
   7. Oct to Dec 2015Former agents Carl Force (78 months) and Shaun Bridges (71 months) jailed for stealing during the case
   8. Jun 28, 2018Supreme Court declines Ulbricht's appeal. Maryland murder-for-hire charge dismissed in July
   9. Nov 2020Justice Department seizes 69,370 BTC taken from Silk Road by 'Individual X'
   10. Apr 2023James Zhong, who stole 50,676 BTC from Silk Road in 2012, sentenced to a year and a day
   11. Jan 21, 2025Trump grants Ulbricht a full and unconditional pardon after more than 11 years in prison
   12. May 31, 2025Ulbricht's donation wallet receives 300 BTC, about $31M, from an unknown sender
   13. Sep 2026Ulbricht speaks at the Republican midterm convention

5. 2012

   

   Bitcoin's First Halving: The Day It Cut Its Own Paycheck in Half on Purpose

   On 28 November 2012 Bitcoin cut miners' pay from 50 coins a block to 25, by its own rules, with bitcoin at about $12. A year later it passed $1,000.

   28 Nov 20125 mins

   Key moments(11)

   1. Jan 3, 2009Satoshi Nakamoto starts the network with a 50-coin block reward and a built-in halving every 210,000 blocks
   2. Sep 27, 2012Bitcoin Foundation launched by Gavin Andresen, Mark Karpeles, Roger Ver, Charlie Shrem and others
   3. Nov 15, 2012WordPress.com starts accepting bitcoin through BitPay
   4. Nov 28, 2012First halving: Slush's pool mines block 210,000 at 15:24 UTC; reward falls from 50 to 25 BTC with bitcoin near $12
   5. Dec 26, 2012Mining difficulty falls 11.6% as some miners switch off, then recovers in January
   6. Early 2013Avalon ships the first ASIC mining machines; the graphics-card era ends
   7. Late Nov 2013Bitcoin passes $1,000 on Mt. Gox, a year after the halving
   8. Jul 9, 2016Second halving: 25 to 12.5 BTC at block 420,000, price about $650
   9. May 11, 2020Third halving: 12.5 to 6.25 BTC at block 630,000, price about $8,600
   10. Apr 20, 2024Fourth halving: 6.25 to 3.125 BTC at block 840,000, price about $64,000
   11. ~Apr 2028Fifth halving expected at block 1,050,000: 3.125 to 1.5625 BTC

6. 2013

   

   The Landfill Bitcoin: 8,000 BTC Buried Under a Million Tonnes of Garbage

   James Howells threw away a hard drive holding 8,000 bitcoin in 2013. A Welsh court said he cannot dig it up. The coins are now worth about $650 million.

   1 Jul 20135 mins

   Key moments(13)

   1. Early 2009Howells mines about 8,000 BTC on a Dell XPS laptop, by his account weeks after the network launched
   2. Summer 2013Hard drive holding the private keys is thrown out and taken to Docksway landfill, Newport. Stash worth about $500K
   3. 2013 to 2023Repeated requests to Newport City Council to excavate are refused
   4. 2021Offers the council 25% of any recovery, then worth about $70M. Refused
   5. Aug 2022Unveils an $11M AI and robotic search plan backed by investors. Council does not change its answer
   6. Aug 2024Newport planners approve a solar farm on part of the landfill
   7. Dec 2024High Court in Cardiff hears his claim for access or about £495M in damages
   8. Jan 9, 2025Judge Keyser KC strikes out the claim: waste in the landfill belongs to the council
   9. Feb 2025Council budget papers show the landfill closing in the 2025/26 financial year
   10. Mar 13, 2025Lord Justice Nugee refuses permission to appeal. UK court route ends
   11. Jul 2025Howells offers £2.5M to buy the site. No reply reported
   12. Aug 2025Drops excavation and purchase plans; announces Ceiniog token tied to the buried wallet
   13. Oct 2026No reported Ceiniog launch. 8,000 BTC worth about $650M, still unmoved

   

   Bitcoin Hits $1,000: The First Time the World Paid Attention

   Bitcoin went from $13 to $1,151 in 2013. Then China cut it off from the banks and the price halved in two weeks, a template every cycle since has followed.

   3 Dec 20132 mins

   Key moments(6)

   1. Jan 2013Bitcoin starts the year at $13
   2. Mar 2013Cyprus crisis sparks first wave of interest
   3. Apr 2013Price hits $266, then crashes to $50. First mini-bubble
   4. Nov 2013US Senate holds first crypto hearing. Price crosses $500
   5. Dec 3, 2013Bitcoin hits all-time high of $1,151 on Mt. Gox
   6. Dec 5, 2013People's Bank of China bars banks from bitcoin. Price falls 51% over the next two weeks

7. 2014

   

   Tether: The 2014 Bitcoin Experiment That Grew From 100 Tokens to $184 Billion

   In October 2014 a startup wrote 100 digital dollars onto Bitcoin. Tether's USDT now has $183.8 billion in circulation.

   6 Oct 20145 mins

   Key moments(11)

   1. Jul 2013J.R. Willett's Mastercoin raises about 4,740 BTC in the first public token sale
   2. Jul 9, 2014Brock Pierce, Reeve Collins and Craig Sellars announce Realcoin, a dollar-backed token on Mastercoin
   3. Sep 2014Bitfinex executives Giancarlo Devasini and Phil Potter set up Tether Holdings Limited in the British Virgin Islands
   4. Oct 6, 2014TetherUS created in Bitcoin block 324,140; first 100 tokens granted in block 324,157
   5. Nov 20, 2014Realcoin renames itself Tether; Bitfinex named as a launch partner
   6. Jan 15, 2015Bitfinex enables USDT deposits and withdrawals
   7. Nov 2017USDT launches on Ethereum; Paradise Papers show Bitfinex and Tether share owners
   8. Feb 23, 2021New York Attorney General settlement: $18.5 million, no New York customers
   9. Oct 15, 2021CFTC fines Tether $41 million and Bitfinex $1.5 million over reserve claims
   10. Sep 1, 2025Tether ends USDT redemptions on the Omni Layer, its original home
   11. Sep 28, 2026USDT supply stands at $183.8 billion

8. 2016

   

   Bitcoin's 2016 Halving: Miner Pay Cut to 12.5 BTC in a Summer of Civil War and Hacks

   On 9 July 2016 Bitcoin cut miners' pay from 25 to 12.5 coins, in the middle of the block size war, the DAO fork and weeks before the Bitfinex hack.

   9 Jul 20165 mins

   Key moments(10)

   1. Feb 10, 2016Gavin Andresen releases Bitcoin Classic, a rival version with a two-megabyte block limit
   2. Feb 21, 2016Hong Kong Agreement: miners stay with Bitcoin Core; SegWit first, a two-megabyte hard fork promised later
   3. Jun 17, 2016The DAO on Ethereum is drained of about 3.6 million ether
   4. Jun 18, 2016Bitcoin touches $778.85 on Bitstamp, its highest since February 2014
   5. Jul 9, 2016F2Pool mines block 420,000 at 16:46 UTC; the reward falls from 25 to 12.5 BTC
   6. Jul 20, 2016Ethereum hard fork at block 1,920,000; Ethereum Classic carries on the old chain
   7. Aug 2, 2016Bitfinex hacked for 119,756 BTC; bitcoin falls 23% intraday
   8. Oct 27, 2016SegWit released in Bitcoin Core 0.13.1
   9. Apr 3, 2017Bitfinex redeems every BFX token at $1
   10. Dec 17, 2017Bitcoin touches $19,666 on Bitstamp as CME futures launch

9. 2017

   

   The Block Size War: Bitcoin's Civil War That Forked the Chain

   A fight over a 1MB limit split Bitcoin's users for three years and ended in 2017 with a new coin, Bitcoin Cash. It now trades near $280.

   1 Aug 20175 mins

   Key moments(12)

   1. 2010Satoshi Nakamoto adds a 1MB cap on block size as an anti-spam measure
   2. Aug 2015Gavin Andresen and Mike Hearn release Bitcoin XT; r/Bitcoin moderators remove XT posts and users move to r/btc
   3. Jan 2016Mike Hearn quits, calling Bitcoin a system controlled by a handful of people, and sells his coins
   4. May 2016Andresen loses commit access to Bitcoin Core after backing Craig Wright's Satoshi claim
   5. May 23, 2017New York Agreement: 58 companies back SegWit plus a later 2MB increase (SegWit2x)
   6. Aug 1, 2017Bitcoin Cash splits off with 8MB blocks; BIP 148 user revolt deadline
   7. Aug 24, 2017SegWit goes live at block 481,824
   8. Nov 8, 2017SegWit2x organisers cancel the 2MB fork, citing lack of consensus
   9. Dec 2017Average Bitcoin fee hits about $55 on Dec 22; Bitcoin Cash peaks near $3,800
   10. Nov 15, 2018Bitcoin Cash splits again; Craig Wright's camp forms Bitcoin SV
   11. Oct 2025Roger Ver settles US tax case with a deferred prosecution deal, paying about $50M
   12. Oct 2026BCH trades near $280 and BSV near $19; BTC near $82,000

   

   Bitcoin Hits $20K: The Moment Normies Showed Up

   Bitcoin rose from $1,000 to nearly $20,000 in 2017 as first-time buyers piled in. Wall Street futures arrived in December and the top came days later.

   17 Dec 20174 mins

   Key moments(11)

   1. Jan 2017Bitcoin crosses $1,000 for the first time since 2013
   2. Jun 2017Hits $3,000 as the ICO boom gathers pace
   3. Sep 4, 2017People's Bank of China bans ICOs. Price falls more than a third, then recovers
   4. Nov 2017Run from about $7,000 to nearly $20,000 in six weeks
   5. Dec 10, 2017Cboe launches the first US-regulated bitcoin futures (XBT)
   6. Dec 17, 2017CME launches BTC futures. Bitcoin peaks at $19,783 on the CoinDesk index
   7. Dec 21, 2017Long Island Iced Tea renames itself Long Blockchain. Shares nearly triple
   8. Feb 2018Price falls below $7,000. Big US banks block crypto purchases on credit cards
   9. Dec 2018Bottom near $3,200, about 84% below the peak
   10. Dec 16, 2020Bitcoin passes $20,000 again, three years after the top
   11. Jul 2021SEC charges three people with insider trading over the Long Blockchain rebrand

10. 2018

    

    Bitcoin Core: The 2018 Bug That Could Have Broken the 21 Million Limit

    In September 2018 a bug report showed Bitcoin's main software could be tricked into creating coins. It was patched in hours and never used.

    17 Sep 20185 mins

    Key moments(9)

    1. Nov 10, 2016Pull request 9049 by Matt Corallo, removing a duplicate-input check from block validation, is merged into Bitcoin Core.
    2. Mar 8, 2017Bitcoin Core 0.14.0 ships the change. A block spending one coin twice in a single payment now crashes nodes.
    3. Sep 14, 2017Bitcoin Core 0.15.0 changes the safety tripwire. Some doubled spends are now silently accepted, allowing coins to be created.
    4. Sep 17, 201814:57 UTC: awemany, as 'beardnboobies', reports a crash bug. 17:47: Matt Corallo finds the inflation flaw. 21:57: fix published as a crash patch.
    5. Sep 18, 2018Bitcoin Core 0.16.3 tagged at 00:24 UTC. Release files available at 20:44. Forums post upgrade banners.
    6. Sep 20, 2018Full impact leaks on a public forum. David Jaenson independently reports the flaw. Bitcoin Core publishes full disclosure of CVE-2018-17144.
    7. Sep 27, 2018A block exploiting the bug appears on Bitcoin's testnet. Unpatched test nodes crash or accept the double spend.
    8. Sep 28, 2018Backported fixes 0.14.3 and 0.15.2 released, crediting awemany by name.
    9. Oct 3, 2018Bitcoin Core 0.17.0 final released with the fix included.

11. 2020

    

    Bitcoin's 2020 Halving: Miner Pay Cut to 6.25 BTC Under a $2.3 Trillion Headline

    On 11 May 2020 Bitcoin cut miners' pay from 12.5 to 6.25 coins. The block before carried a headline about the Fed's $2.3 trillion rescue.

    11 May 20206 mins

    Key moments(9)

    1. Jan 3, 2009Satoshi Nakamoto's first block carries The Times headline about a second bank bailout
    2. Mar 12, 2020Black Thursday: bitcoin falls from about $7,950 to a low of $3,850 by early 13 March
    3. Mar 15, 2020Federal Reserve cuts rates to near zero and pledges $700 billion of bond buying
    4. Apr 9, 2020Fed announces up to $2.3 trillion in loans; The New York Times runs the headline
    5. May 11, 2020F2Pool mines block 629,999 with the NYTimes headline; AntPool mines block 630,000 and the reward falls to 6.25 BTC
    6. Jun 4, 2020Mining difficulty falls 9.3% after machines are switched off
    7. Aug 11, 2020MicroStrategy buys 21,454 BTC for $250 million
    8. Dec 16, 2020Bitcoin passes its 2017 record and crosses $20,000
    9. Nov 10, 2021Bitcoin's cycle peak, an intraday high near $69,000

12. 2021

    

    China Bans Bitcoin Mining: The Great Migration

    China shut its bitcoin miners in 2021 and half the network's power vanished. Miners fled to Texas and Kazakhstan. Some quietly came back.

    1 May 20214 mins

    Key moments(9)

    1. Apr 2020Cambridge estimates China runs about 65% of global bitcoin mining power
    2. May 21, 2021State Council committee chaired by Liu He vows to crack down on bitcoin mining and trading
    3. Jun 2021Xinjiang, Qinghai and Inner Mongolia order shutdowns. Sichuan orders all mines off by Jun 20
    4. Jul 3, 2021Difficulty falls 27.9%, the largest cut in bitcoin's history, after hashrate halves
    5. Jul to Aug 2021Cambridge records China's share at 0%. US rises to 35.4%, Kazakhstan to about 18%
    6. Sep 24, 2021People's Bank of China declares all crypto transactions illegal; mining to be phased out
    7. Jan 2022Network power back above pre-ban peak. Cambridge finds China back at about 21% covertly. Kazakhstan unrest knocks miners offline
    8. Sep 2025Network mining power passes one zettahash, about five times the 2021 peak
    9. Nov 2025Reuters reports China back to about 14% of global mining, third behind the US and Russia

    

    El Salvador: The Country That Bet on Bitcoin and Lost

    Nayib Bukele made Bitcoin legal tender in 2021. Most Salvadorans never used it, and in 2025 the law was rolled back for a $1.4 billion IMF loan.

    7 Sep 20214 mins

    Key moments(12)

    1. Jun 5, 2021Nayib Bukele announces the plan by video at the Bitcoin 2021 conference in Miami
    2. Jun 9, 2021Legislative Assembly passes the Bitcoin Law with 62 of 84 votes
    3. Sep 6, 2021Government announces its first purchase: 400 BTC
    4. Sep 7, 2021Bitcoin becomes legal tender; Chivo wallet launches with a $30 bonus and crashes under demand
    5. Sep 15, 2021Independence Day protest in San Salvador; a Chivo bitcoin kiosk is set on fire
    6. May 2022Moody's cuts El Salvador to Caa3, citing the lack of a credible financing plan
    7. Nov 2022Bukele says El Salvador will buy one bitcoin every day
    8. Jan 2025UCA poll: 91.9% of Salvadorans did not use bitcoin to buy anything in 2024
    9. Jan 29, 2025Assembly votes 55-2 to make bitcoin acceptance voluntary and end tax payments in it
    10. Feb 26, 2025IMF board approves a $1.4 billion, 40-month loan
    11. Nov 17, 2025Government tracker shows a 1,090 BTC purchase, about $100M, its largest in one day
    12. Oct 1, 2026IMF grants a waiver on bitcoin buying, saying additions came from private donations, and releases $138M

13. 2023

    

    Ordinals: The 2023 Launch That Put 128 Million Files on Bitcoin

    In January 2023 Casey Rodarmor's Ordinals let people write pictures onto bitcoin. Fees spiked, purists revolted, and 128 million files followed.

    21 Jan 20236 mins

    Key moments(10)

    1. Dec 14, 2022Casey Rodarmor inscribes inscription 0, a 793-byte pixel-art skull, in block 767,430
    2. Jan 19, 2023ord version 0.4.0 released, the build used for the public mainnet launch
    3. Jan 21, 2023Rodarmor announces Ordinals is live on mainnet for anyone to use
    4. Feb 1, 2023Luxor mines block 774,628, a record 3.96 MB, almost all of it one Taproot Wizard JPEG
    5. Mar 8, 2023Pseudonymous analyst domo publishes BRC-20; the first token, ORDI, is deployed
    6. May 7, 2023Binance pauses bitcoin withdrawals twice as the mempool swells to about 395,000 transactions
    7. May 8, 2023Average Bitcoin fee hits $30.82, the highest since February 2021
    8. Dec 2023Luke Dashjr calls inscriptions spam; CVE-2023-50428 filed; fees reach 21.75% of mining rewards
    9. Apr 20, 2024Runes launch at halving block 840,000; ViaBTC collects 37.6 BTC in fees
    10. Mar 9, 2026Magic Eden closes its Bitcoin Ordinals and Runes marketplace

14. 2024

    

    Bitcoin ETFs: Wall Street Spent a Decade Saying No, Then Took In $57 Billion

    The SEC rejected Bitcoin funds for a decade, then approved 11 in January 2024. They have taken in $57 billion net and now hold about $105 billion.

    10 Jan 20244 mins

    Key moments(13)

    1. Jul 2013Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss file for the first US bitcoin ETF, the Winklevoss Bitcoin Trust
    2. Mar 10, 2017SEC rejects the Winklevoss fund, citing unregulated bitcoin markets; bitcoin falls as much as 18%
    3. Oct 2017BlackRock's Larry Fink calls bitcoin 'an index of money laundering'
    4. Jul 26, 2018SEC rejects the Winklevoss fund a second time
    5. Aug 29, 2023DC Circuit rules for Grayscale, calling the SEC's refusal 'arbitrary and capricious'
    6. Jan 9, 2024SEC's X account is hijacked through a SIM swap and posts a fake approval
    7. Jan 10, 2024SEC approves 11 spot bitcoin ETFs; Gensler says the SEC does not endorse bitcoin
    8. Jan 11, 2024Trading begins
    9. Feb 29 - Mar 1, 2024IBIT passes $10 billion in 49 trading days, an ETF record; GBTC has lost $7.4B to outflows
    10. May 16, 2025SEC account hacker Eric Council Jr. sentenced to 14 months
    11. Oct 2025Bitcoin hits a record $126,080; IBIT holds about $99 billion
    12. Jun 2026Worst month on record: $4.1B to $4.5B withdrawn from US spot bitcoin ETFs
    13. Oct 14, 2026US spot bitcoin ETFs hold about $105B; net inflows since launch about $57B

    

    Bitcoin: Miner Pay Cut in Half Again in 2024, and the Machines Kept Running

    On April 20, 2024, Bitcoin's block reward fell from 6.25 BTC to 3.125, halving miner pay overnight. No vote, no warning, and the network never blinked.

    20 Apr 20242 mins

    Key moments(7)

    1. Nov 20121st halving: 50 → 25 BTC
    2. Jul 20162nd halving: 25 → 12.5 BTC
    3. May 20203rd halving: 12.5 → 6.25 BTC
    4. Jan 2024US spot Bitcoin ETFs launch, reshaping the market months before the halving
    5. Apr 20, 20244th halving at block 840,000: 6.25 → 3.125 BTC. BTC ~$64,000
    6. Dec 2024Bitcoin breaks $100,000 for the first time, post-halving
    7. ~Apr 20285th halving expected: 3.125 → 1.5625 BTC

    

    Bitcoin Hits $100K: The Number Everyone Said Was Impossible

    Bitcoin first crossed $100,000 on 4 December 2024, hours after Trump picked a crypto-friendly SEC chief. It peaked at $126,080, then fell back.

    5 Dec 20244 mins

    Key moments(14)

    1. May 22, 2010Laszlo Hanyecz pays 10,000 BTC for two pizzas
    2. Nov 2021Bitcoin peaks near $69,000; the 'laser eyes' $100K target is missed
    3. Nov 2022After Terra and FTX collapse, bitcoin falls below $16,000
    4. Jan 10, 2024SEC approves 11 spot bitcoin ETFs
    5. Apr 20, 2024Fourth halving at block 840,000 cuts the miner reward to 3.125 BTC
    6. Jul 27, 2024Trump at Bitcoin 2024 in Nashville promises 'the crypto capital of the planet'
    7. Nov 5, 2024Trump wins the US presidential election
    8. Dec 4, 2024Trump picks Paul Atkins for SEC chair; bitcoin crosses $100,000 that evening (5 Dec in Asia), peaking near $103,800
    9. Mar 6, 2025Executive order creates the US Strategic Bitcoin Reserve
    10. Oct 6, 2025All-time high of $126,080
    11. Oct 10, 2025Tariff threat triggers about $19 billion of liquidations in a day
    12. Nov 2025Bitcoin closes back below $100,000
    13. Jul 1, 2026Bitcoin falls through $60,000 to around $58,000, less than half its record
    14. Oct 16, 2026Bitcoin trades near $82,000; Strategy holds 848,250 BTC

15. 2025

    

    Trump Embraces Crypto: The President Who Delivered

    In 2019 Trump said bitcoin was based on thin air. As president he signed the first US crypto law, and his family's crypto ventures made billions.

    20 Jan 20255 mins

    Key moments(12)

    1. Jul 2019Trump: 'I am not a fan of Bitcoin', its value 'based on thin air'
    2. Dec 2022Trump sells $99 digital trading cards of himself. They sell out
    3. Jul 27, 2024Headlines Bitcoin 2024 in Nashville. Promises to fire Gensler, free Ulbricht and never sell government bitcoin
    4. Sep 2024Trump family launches World Liberty Financial
    5. Jan 17, 2025Launches the $TRUMP meme coin three days before inauguration
    6. Jan 20 to 23, 2025Gensler leaves the SEC. Ulbricht pardoned. Executive order bans a US digital dollar
    7. Feb to May 2025SEC drops cases against Coinbase and Binance. MGX to invest $2B in Binance using World Liberty's USD1
    8. Mar 6, 2025Strategic Bitcoin Reserve executive order signed
    9. Jul 18, 2025Signs the GENIUS Act, the first federal stablecoin law
    10. Oct 2025Bitcoin record of about $126,000 (6 Oct). Tariff threat triggers $19B liquidation (10 Oct). Pardons Changpeng Zhao (23 Oct)
    11. Jun to Jul 2026Reuters estimates family crypto profits of at least $2.3B. Trump's disclosure shows $1.4B+ crypto income for 2025. Bitcoin falls below $58,000
    12. Sep 15, 2026CLARITY Act market structure bill fails a Senate vote, 49 to 50

    

    Strategic Bitcoin Reserve: How the US Government Became a Bitcoin Holder

    In March 2025 Trump ordered the US to stop selling seized bitcoin and keep it. Nineteen months on it holds about 320,000 coins and has bought none.

    6 Mar 20255 mins

    Key moments(12)

    1. 2014 to 2024US Marshals auction seized bitcoin. Sacks later says about 195,000 BTC were sold for roughly $366M
    2. Jul 27, 2024Trump promises a 'strategic national bitcoin stockpile' at Bitcoin 2024 in Nashville
    3. Jul 2024Sen. Cynthia Lummis introduces the BITCOIN Act to buy 1 million BTC over five years. It never reaches a vote
    4. Jan 2025Prosecutors ask a court to return about 94,600 BTC from the Bitfinex hack to the exchange
    5. Mar 6, 2025Executive Order 14233 creates the Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile. Holdings estimated at about 198,000 BTC
    6. May to Jun 2025New Hampshire and Texas pass state bitcoin reserve laws. Texas buys $5M of a bitcoin fund in November
    7. Aug 14, 2025Bessent says the US is 'not going to be buying' bitcoin, then says Treasury is exploring budget-neutral options
    8. Oct 14, 2025Justice Department seeks forfeiture of about 127,271 BTC (~$15B) tied to Prince Group's Chen Zhi
    9. Mar 2026FBI arrests John Daghita, accused of stealing more than $46M from government crypto wallets
    10. May 21, 2026Reps. Begich and Golden introduce ARMA: 20-year no-sale rule and quarterly audited proof of reserves
    11. Oct 6 to 8, 2026Government wallets move more than $1B of bitcoin, much of it to Coinbase Prime. No explanation given
    12. Oct 14, 2026Patrick Witt says the priority is securing and counting existing coins. Holdings estimated at 319,000 to 328,000 BTC

    

    Stablecoins: The $300 Billion Crypto Product Nobody Argues About Anymore

    The most useful crypto product no one talks about. About $300 billion in circulation. Now with federal legislation.

    18 Jul 20252 mins

    Key moments(6)

    1. 2014Tether (USDT) launches
    2. 2018USDC launches (Circle + Coinbase)
    3. 2020Stablecoin supply crosses $20B
    4. 2024Stablecoin supply exceeds $150B
    5. Jul 2025Trump signs GENIUS Act - first federal stablecoin law
    6. Oct 2026Total stablecoin supply about $300B, below a May 2026 peak near $315B. USDT: $183B, USDC: $73B

16. 2026

    Latest
    

    The Quantum Threat: Google Says Bitcoin Is Easier to Break Than Anyone Thought

    Google's Quantum AI team says fewer than 500,000 qubits could break Bitcoin's encryption, leaving 6.9 million BTC exposed. Taproot made it worse.

    31 Mar 20264 mins

    Key moments(8)

    1. 2019Google achieves quantum supremacy with Sycamore (53 qubits)
    2. 2024Google unveils Willow chip (105 qubits). NIST finalizes post-quantum crypto standards
    3. Jan 2026Ethereum Foundation launches Post-Quantum Security team
    4. Feb 2026Vitalik Buterin publishes quantum resistance roadmap. EIP-8141 proposed
    5. Mar 12, 2026Ark Invest report: quantum risk is real but not imminent
    6. Mar 19, 2026Galaxy Digital report: engineering challenge, not existential crisis
    7. Mar 31, 2026Google Quantum AI whitepaper: <500K qubits to crack Bitcoin. 6.9M BTC exposed
    8. Mar 31, 2026CZ responds: crypto will stay post-quantum, but upgrades will be messy

    

    Bitcoin: A $150 Home Miner Beat the Mining Giants and Won $200,000

    On July 9, 2026, a palm-sized $150 miner running on a wall socket beat the industrial mining farms to a full Bitcoin block worth about $200,000.

    9 Jul 20263 mins

    Key moments(5)

    1. 2024Solo miners begin a documented streak of full-block wins tracked by Soloblocks.io and D-Central, starting around block 853,742
    2. Feb 2026A miner rents ~450 PH/s for 90 minutes via AtlasPool and wins a block worth over $200,000, a ~2,600x return on the rental
    3. Apr 9, 2026A solo miner running just 70 TH/s beats ~0.001% daily odds to claim a block reward worth ~$225,000
    4. Jun 29, 2026A Solo CKPool participant lands 3.16 BTC, one of 12 solo blocks found in 2026 so far
    5. Jul 9, 2026A palm-sized $150 Bitaxe Gamma solves block 957382 via Public Pool for 3.1382 BTC (~$200K) at roughly 1-in-18,000-year odds

    

    Vitalik Buterin: AI Could Crack the Maths That Locks Crypto Wallets. Don't Panic

    After OpenAI's AI churned out hundreds of maths papers, Ethereum's founder warned the locks on crypto may weaken. His advice: prepare, but don't rush.

    7 Oct 20267 mins

    Key moments(6)

    1. Past yearEthereum's long-term 'lean' roadmap moves to hash-based signatures (WOTS, SPHINCS), per Vitalik
    2. Oct 6, 2026OpenAI publishes hundreds of new mathematical results from an internal AI model
    3. Oct 6-7, 2026Ethereum Foundation researcher Justin Drake warns of a worst-case break 'within months' and urges 'bunker mode'
    4. Oct 7, 2026Coinbase's Yehuda Lindell calls the warning FUD with 'no evidence whatsoever'
    5. Oct 7, 2026Vitalik Buterin posts his thread: prepare for AI-accelerated maths, but don't rush to move funds
    6. Oct 8, 2026CZ shares the thread: 'Vitalik's math score: 99.99/100. My math score: 0.01/100'

    

    Iran: The US Says It Will Seize $1B of Tehran's Crypto This Week, After Claiming $1B in May

    Scott Bessent says the US will probably seize $1B of Iran-linked crypto this week. In May he said $1B was already taken. Treasury's own figure was $500M.

    9 Oct 20266 mins

    Key moments(12)

    1. Jun 18, 2025Predatory Sparrow hacks Nobitex and destroys more than $90M in crypto
    2. Feb 28, 2026US and Israel strike Iran; the war begins
    3. Apr 15, 2026Bessent announces Operation Economic Fury
    4. Apr 23, 2026Tether freezes $344M in USDT on two Tron addresses tied to Iran
    5. Apr 29, 2026Bessent says the US has seized nearly $500M of Iranian crypto
    6. May 29, 2026Bessent says about $1B seized: 'Just outright grabbed the wallets'
    7. Jun 2, 2026OFAC sanctions Nobitex, Wallex, Bitpin and Ramzinex
    8. Jul 15, 2026OFAC lists four Central Bank of Iran wallets; about $131M frozen
    9. Aug 7, 2026OFAC sanctions Shelbit and Aban Tether
    10. Sep 15, 2026Prosecutors in Manhattan seek forfeiture of $61M in Iran-linked USDT
    11. Sep 17, 2026OFAC sanctions BitBank, allegedly run by Babak Zanjani
    12. Oct 9, 2026Bessent says the US will 'probably' seize $1B of Iran-linked crypto this week

    

    Tether: $6.3M Went to a White House Crypto Chief's Firm, WSJ Reports

    The WSJ reports Tether paid $6.3M to Nxum, a firm Bo Hines part-owned, while he worked on the GENIUS Act. Nxum denies wrongdoing. Nobody is charged.

    15 Oct 20265 mins

    Key moments(12)

    1. Jan 2025Bo Hines becomes executive director of the White House crypto council, keeping a one-third stake in Nxum
    2. Apr 2025Peter Vincer arranges a meeting near Central Park between Nxum's partners and Paolo Ardoino, per the WSJ
    3. May 11, 2025First $2.49M payment leaves Bitfinex for Vincer's firm, Notorious; most is passed to Nxum
    4. Jul 18, 2025Trump signs the GENIUS Act
    5. Aug 9, 2025Hines announces he is leaving the White House
    6. Aug 19, 2025Tether names Hines a strategic adviser for digital assets and US strategy
    7. Sep 12, 2025Tether announces USAT, its US stablecoin, with Hines as chief executive
    8. Dec 2025Second $2.49M payment reaches Nxum, per the WSJ
    9. Jan 27, 2026USAT launches, issued through Anchorage Digital Bank
    10. Apr 2026Third $2.49M payment reaches Nxum, per the WSJ
    11. Oct 14, 2026The Wall Street Journal publishes its investigation
    12. Oct 15, 2026Patrick Witt, Hines's successor at the crypto council, announces he is leaving