The bitcoin price has finally broken through the $100,000 level. Many have been waiting for this moment since 2021. What will happen to the cryptocurrency market now? And above all: how is it possible that from a geek’s toy BTC has become an asset worth as much as an apartment in Poland?
Bitcoin price exceeds USD 100,000. It didn’t work out in 2021…
Anyone who has been on the cryptocurrency market long enough remembers 2021. Back then, it was said that USD 100,000 for 1 BTC was the “social minimum”. It turned out that the bull market ended with an ATH of approximately USD 69,000. He hindered, among others, The Fed announced that it was starting a cycle of interest rate increases, which led to the “washing out” of capital from the market.
Currently, however, the landscape in the digital asset market is completely different than 3 years ago. The U.S. central bank authorities have started a quantitative easing cycle and are lowering interest rates, which is bringing significant liquidity back to the stock exchange. In addition, Donald Trump won the US elections and promised to strengthen the position of the cryptocurrency industry in the country. BTC ETFs have also been operating in the USA for almost a year, which are a new source of capital that goes to the crypto market.
$100,000 on the clock!
All the above phenomena allowed the bitcoin price to continue to grow to levels of approximately USD 100,000. The problem was to break this last ceiling, which was also particularly important as a certain psychological resistance. But now it’s finally done! Bitcoin just broke the $100,000 mark!
Currently, 1 BTC costs exactly USD 102,311, which translates into a 6% increase since yesterday and a 7% jump in 7 days.
However, it is worth emphasizing the importance of what took place now. Breaking the $100,000 mark is a symbolic and historic moment. Therefore, it is worth stopping for a moment, going back in time and answering the question: how did this happen?
Bitcoin – from a geek’s toy to the mainstream
Since its creation in 2009, Bitcoin has revolutionized the way we perceive money and finance. His story is a fascinating story about a revolution and an idea behind which stood a man still unknown to everyone.
One by one, however. The origins of Bitcoin as a project are related to the events that took place during the financial crisis in 2007-2008. The collapse of banks, massive rescues of financial institutions by governments and the loss of trust in traditional financial systems have created space for alternative solutions. In response to all this, on October 31, 2008, a mysterious figure behind the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto published a document on the Internet titled Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System. It describes the vision of a system that would allow for direct, secure and anonymous transfer of values between users. Importantly, without the need to involve intermediaries such as banks.
Description and idea are one thing, implementation is another. Fortunately, Nakamoto – whoever he is – was not only a theoretician, but also a practitioner. He designed the world’s first blockchain, a decentralized network, the principles of which he presented in Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System.
In early 2009, Satoshi Nakamoto mined the first block in the Bitcoin network, known as the Genesis Block. This marked the issuance of the first bitcoins. He posted a special message on the block: “The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks”. This is the headline of a British daily The Times, relating to the then situation on the banking market. It was a symbolic comment on the reasons for the creation of Bitcoin.
The first actual transaction on the network occurred on January 12, 2009, when Nakamoto sent 10 BTC to Hal Finney, a programmer and one of Bitcoin’s early enthusiasts.
What happened next? Not much, actually: Bitcoin grew underground, used mainly by technology and cryptography enthusiasts. Its real value was initially negligible, as best evidenced by what happened in May 2010 – a programmer of Hungarian origin, Laszlo Hanyecz, bought two pizzas for 10,000 bitcoins. We can only hope that the pancakes were tasty and the dinner from a dozen or so years ago somehow compensates him for this bitter loss.
Over time, thanks to the growing interest of the media, investors and entrepreneurs, bitcoin as a currency began to gain in value and popularity. In 2013, its price exceeded USD 1,000 for the first time. Investors had to wait a few years to add another zero, and, as you know today, more than a decade to add another zero.
Along the way, cryptocurrency gained in importance and recognition. And then a famous person admitted that he was investing in it, or a popular rapper or rock band started accepting BTC in exchange for his CDs, or another time a libertarian politician started talking about it. Year by year, the popularity of BTC and social awareness about it increased. Until we are all here today. But more on that in a moment.
Not only successes
So far, I have only mentioned the bright side of cryptocurrency that drove the BTC price. However, everything was not always rosy. The history of bitcoin also includes stock market collapses and investor losses.
In 2013, the largest bitcoin exchange at the time, Mt. Gox began to have problems with the solvency of coins. In 2014, she declared bankruptcy. It turned out that she was a victim of hackers. In this way, her clients were cut off from their funds. They waited until 2024 for the refund – some are still waiting today.
In 2022, the community had to survive a similar crisis: the FTX platform collapsed with a bang, also along with the clients’ cryptocurrencies.
Along the way, there were also many hacker attacks, scandals with people who decided to make money on Satoshi’s noble idea at the expense of others, and losses for investors who turned out to be too greedy and often simply… naive.
The Secret of Satoshi Nakamoto
It is also worth mentioning a certain BTC legend that helped promote its decentralized idea. One of the most fascinating elements of this story is the figure of Bitcoin’s creator. Satoshi Nakamoto, despite his key role, remains anonymous to this day. After 2011, he stopped communicating with the community and his identity has remained a secret since then. Speculation about who he might be even led to an HBO documentary on the subject.
Who is (was?) Satoshi? Some theories talk about the late Hal Finney – yes, the same one who received the first bitcoin transfer in history from the creator of BTC (of course, he could have sent the funds to himself to deceive himself). Others suggest that Adam Back, who is still involved in the blockchain community, was actually behind the entire project from the beginning.
We only know one thing: we know nothing. And most likely we will never know the truth, and Satoshi will remain part of the folklore of the bitcoin market.
Bitcoin today
Currently, Bitcoin is accepted by thousands of companies almost all over the world and is the foundation for the development of the entire cryptocurrency industry. In addition to its role as a means of payment, bitcoin is also seen as digital gold – a form of storage of value in times of economic uncertainty.
At the same time, the blockchain technology on which Bitcoin is based has been used in many other areas – from logistics to finance.
Today, BTC is also a political topic – Donald Trump fought for the votes of cryptocurrency voters during the last election campaign, and now Sławomir Mentzen in Poland. It is possible that soon the former will even announce the creation of a bitcoin strategic reserve. Today, bitcoins are systematically purchased by the government of El Salvador, and Bhutan itself mines them.
What’s next for bitcoin?
You already know the current situation and past of Bitcoin. But what can happen in this market in the future? As I have already suggested, it is possible that more countries will start investing in BTC (first of all the USA). There are already ETFs on the market, which are a source of new capital on the BTC market. ETFs allow people to invest in cryptocurrency who previously could not do so due to technological barriers (e.g. setting up their own wallet).
This may also result in increased institutional adoption – both in terms of investing in BTC and using practical applications of blockchain technology.
The year 2025 will probably bring a new ATH cycle and news that even the most ardent bitcoiners could not have dreamed of a few years ago. All that remains is to wait. HODL!
You can buy Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies in a simple and safe way on the zondacrypto exchange.
