By
Chimamanda U. Martha
April 24th, 2024
The description of Bitcoin’s growth over the years will not be complete unless an acknowledgment is given to the level of adoption of the digital currency by both retail and institutional investors.
The Bitcoin (BTC) network’s Genesis Block was created exactly 13 years ago today, and many proponents are acknowledging this historic milestone towards the creation of a decentralized digital monetary system. Satoshi Nakamoto, the yet-to-be-identified creator of the Bitcoin currency, released the Genesis block with the first 50 BTC that was delivered onto Sourceforge. The value of the 50 BTC remains 0 as the tokens are non-transferable.
The Genesis Block comes with a message on the blockchain at the time quoting a headline from the U.K.’s Times newspaper which reads “The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks.”
This statement has in part formed a mantra that many in the digital currency ecosystem have lived by ever since. Due to its link with the banks, many believe the Bitcoin goal is aimed at dethroning the banks by creating a new financial model that is trustless and devoid of third-party oversight.
Dr. Craig Wright, one of the heavily involved figures in the Bitcoin network with direct claims to be Satoshi Nakamoto has lent his voice to explain the mystery behind the Genesis Block message. According to Wright, the headline timestamp is there to mark the date and prove Bitcoin wasn’t “pre-mined” to give its creator an advantage, and an incentive to create/pump a fiat currency value.
He also noted that though the choice of headline comment was deemed political, it held a different meaning or perspective to what many people adduce to it today. Wright said the perception that Bitcoin is there to “destroy” or “replace” banks is wrong, rather, it’s against the notion that governments should interfere in free markets. Bitcoin is a free market and capitalist, but not anti-bank.
Wright’s claim to the Bitcoin IP is largely disputed but he has remained the only visible claimant to the Bitcoin protocol.
Profiling The Bitcoin Price Growth from Genesis
Bitcoin has undoubtedly come a very long way since its launch back in 2009 as the price has grown from practically 0 to the $47,116.33 it is currently trading at according to data from CoinMarketCap. While this current price level connotes a 71752% growth from its All-Time Low (ATL) of $65.53 printed about 8 years ago, Bitcoin has significantly grown to hit an All-Time High (ATH) above $68,700 in early November.
The description of Bitcoin’s growth over the years will not be complete unless an acknowledgment is given to the level of adoption of the digital currency by both retail and institutional investors. While millions of people currently own Bitcoin, corporations, chief of which is MicroStrategy Incorporated (NASDAQ: MSTR), Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA), and Block Inc (NYSE: SQ) amongst others.
The regulations surrounding Bitcoin and the broad ecosystem of digital currencies that emerged through it are also expanding, as regulators are gradually favoring investment products such as an ETF that can be traded on regulated national bourses.