Bitcoin has surpassed the $100,000 threshold for the first time, marking a milestone in its 15-year evolution.
This morning, the cryptocurrency achieved a significant milestone of $100,000, marking an impressive increase of over 159% from its earlier low of $38,505 recorded this year. The cryptocurrency in question stands out as the largest in the market, boasting a market capitalisation of approximately $2 trillion, as reported by CoinMarketCap. This figure surpasses the GDP of Spain.
On November 25, Bitcoin attempted to reach the $100,000 mark but retreated slightly above $98,000, as significant profit-taking by long-term holders was observed, according to analytics firm Glassnode. The figure surpassed the $98,000 threshold once more on Thanksgiving Friday, only to experience a subsequent decline.
Bitcoin has surpassed the $100,000 mark today after a brief pause. The recent surge to a record high has been sparked by President-elect Donald Trump‘s announcement of his selection of Paul Atkins, a candidate supportive of cryptocurrency, to head the Securities & Exchange Commission. Atkins is set to take over from the current SEC Chair, Gary Gensler, who has faced significant backlash from the cryptocurrency community due to his decision to initiate multiple lawsuits against various crypto firms.
However, the digital coin has yet to experience consistent success. After more than ten years marked by volatility, setbacks, and moments of exhilaration, the cryptocurrency has endured and achieved a milestone that many, except for the staunchest advocates, thought was unattainable: crossing the six-figure mark.
During the economic downturn 2008, an anonymous figure or collective known as Satoshi Nakamoto put forth the concept of Bitcoin. Nakamoto articulated his vision for a peer-to-peer currency in a white paper, proposing a system that operates independently of major financial institutions and government oversight.
Nakamoto introduced a groundbreaking technology known as blockchain, which facilitated the creation of a digital currency. This innovation relies on miners maintaining a transparent public ledger, allowing all participants to witness real-time transactions. The inception of the Bitcoin blockchain occurred in 2009 with the mining of its first block.
Bitcoin’s supply is capped at 21 million coins, and its reward for miners is halved approximately every four years. This deflationary nature implies that each new token becomes increasingly costly. Consequently, many investors view Bitcoin as a store of value akin to gold.
The newly created digital currency experienced a sluggish beginning. Despite garnering a following and attracting developers to foster its growth, the cryptocurrency remained largely undervalued and faced significant challenges in gaining acceptance as a legitimate currency in various markets.
On May 22, 2010, Laszlo Hanyecz, a resident of Florida, struck a notable agreement with another user on a Bitcoin forum, agreeing to accept Bitcoin as payment for pizza. In a transaction that would later be etched in the annals of cryptocurrency history, Hanyecz transferred 10,000 Bitcoin to a forum member, a sum valued at approximately $41 at the time, in exchange for two pizzas that cost around $25, as reported by Benzinga. At the current record price, 10,000 Bitcoin would hold a value of approximately $1 billion.
In a 2019 interview with 60 Minutes, Hanyecz expressed that he did not feel particularly distressed about what has since come to be viewed as an uneven transaction. Every May 22, the crypto community continues to celebrate “Bitcoin Pizza Day,” a tradition that Hanyecz embraces wholeheartedly.
“Having a holiday dedicated to me is quite remarkable,” he remarked during an interview with 60 Minutes.
In 2012, Bitcoin experienced its inaugural halving event, which resulted in reduced mining rewards and a deceleration in the supply of coins. In 2013, Bitcoin’s price reached a significant milestone, exceeding $100 for the first time.
Financial regulators began to pay attention to the emerging currency during this period, though their reactions could have been more uniformly positive. Numerous regulators and prominent figures in the financial sector, including JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon, have perceived digital currency primarily as a tool for enabling illicit transactions. It was observed that the anonymous black market platform Silk Road, established by Ross Ulbricht, widely utilised this resource. Ulbricht was infamously recognised online by the moniker “Dread Pirate Roberts.” In 2013, the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) released its inaugural guidelines regarding digital currencies, alerting users that Bitcoin transactions could potentially draw the scrutiny of law enforcement agencies. That same year, China banned financial institutions from using Bitcoin.
The 2014 collapse of the Mt. Gox crypto exchange, once the largest in the industry, triggered a significant wave of scepticism and selloffs in the cryptocurrency market. In 2017, Bitcoin experienced a significant milestone as its price surged past the $19,000 mark for the first time, signalling the onset of a notable boom.
Institutions have begun to explore the cryptocurrency landscape. In 2017, the Chicago Board Options Exchange witnessed the trading of its first-ever futures contract, leading to a significant surge in activity on the CBOE website. In a significant development later that year, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange introduced its own Bitcoin Futures contract.
The ICO boom served as a significant tailwind during this period. Many new digital currencies, not exclusively tied to Bitcoin, have emerged, attracting numerous investors eager to speculate. Despite the disappearance of numerous altcoins, Bitcoin, the pioneering cryptocurrency with robust value protection mechanisms, has endured. However, by 2018, its price was once again experiencing a decline.
In 2020, Michael Saylor, the cofounder and then-CEO of MicroStrategy, began a discreet accumulation of Bitcoin via his business intelligence firm. MicroStrategy initially invested $250 million in the cryptocurrency but has since significantly increased its investment, with its total holdings reaching at least $30 billion.
In 2021, Bitcoin experienced a significant surge, primarily attributed to the pandemic that confined individuals to their homes, leading many to turn their attention to meme stocks and digital currencies. The cryptocurrency achieved an unprecedented peak of $60,000, drawing in notable investors, including Tesla, the electric vehicle company founded by Elon Musk, and El Salvador’s nation under President Nayib Bukele, a known advocate for Bitcoin. El Salvador has reportedly amassed a Bitcoin portfolio exceeding $500 million.
In January of this year, the coin experienced a significant surge following the approval of the first spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) by the Securities and Exchange Commission, which are designed to track the price of the cryptocurrency directly. The introduction of ETFs has significantly contributed to the rise in Bitcoin’s price, enhancing accessibility for retail investors who prefer engaging with conventional financial institutions.
Bitcoin’s price has surged dramatically in the past few weeks, particularly following Donald Trump’s victory in the U.S. presidential election. Investors anticipate a shift in the regulatory landscape as Trump is expected to adopt a more favourable approach towards cryptocurrency, contrasting sharply with the frequently adversarial position taken by Gary Gensler, the SEC chairman under the Biden Administration.
Trump has proposed several initiatives to embrace Bitcoin, including establishing a “strategic Bitcoin reserve” and forming a crypto advisory council that may feature leading U.S. cryptocurrency firms. Trump’s tariff proposals may have prompted investors to turn to store-of-value assets like Bitcoin, seeking a safeguard against inflation.