THE CRYPTO TIMES
2008 Domain name bitcoin.org is first registered. Two months later, a paper detailing a decentralized “peer-to-peer cash electronic cash system” is published by Satoshi Nakamoto, likely a pseudonym.
2009 The first Bitcoin transaction takes place when “Nakamoto” sends 10 bitcoins to a computer programmer.
Early adoptees begin “mining” bitcoins— using their own computers to securely record transactions (aka blockchain technology), with bitcoins as payment.
2010 Bitcoin is hacked for the first time, making promoters and detractors alike face the considerable vulnerability of cryptocurrency.
The first actual Bitcoin sale occurs when a user swaps 10,000 coins for two pizzas. Today’s value: More than $100 million.
2011 gaining With buzz Bitcoin in financial circles, rival cryptocurrencies (aka altcoins) Litecoin, Namecoin and Swiftcoin join the party.
Soon after the price of one bitcoin first reaches $1,000, the price plummets to around $300, demonstrating a basic cryptocurrency trait— volatility.
2013 The first Bitcoin ATM appears at a coffeehouse in Vancouver, allowing users to exchange the digital currency for cash or open a new account.
Developers duce cryptocurrency, Coinye intro- West bearing the hip-hop icon’s likeness. After a cease-and-desist letter, it’s shortened to just Coinye and collapses into near worthlessness.
Thailand and China limit or ban Bitcoin, while Germany works on a system for taxing cryptocurrency transactions.
2014 Tether, a “stablecoin” theoretically tied to the value of the U.S. dollar, is issued.
Hackers attack major Bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox, swiping $450 million in bitcoins from owners— forever. Mt. Gox soon goes bankrupt.
2015 Coinbase Ethereum join the and cryptocurrency ranks, while European Bitcoin exchange Bitstamp is closed for several days by a security hack.
2016 The SEC warns that the new cryptocurrency investment tool of Initial Coin Offerings might be a Ponzi scheme in disguise.
2017 Japan allows Bitcoin as a legal payment method. Norwegian online bank Sbanken allows Bitcoin in customer accounts.
2018 Goldman Sachs announces it is opening a Bitcoin trading desk while also stating it isn’t “sold” on cryptocurrency.
Samsung tures specialized computer manufac- for mining chips cryptocurrencies, while environmentalists estimate that mining-dedicated server farms are sucking more energy than Argentina or Ireland.
2019 Elon Musk begins tweeting his support of Dogecoin, which was founded in 2013 as a jokey extension of an internet meme featuring the Shiba Inu dog breed.
2021 Bitcoin-heavy exchange Coinbase becomes a publicly listed company on the Nasdaq.
The value total of all market cryptocurrency surpasses $2.5 trillion, then plummets $1 trillion in a week, sparking new fears of a “crypto bubble.”