On January 3, 2009, an individual or group under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto launched the Bitcoin mainnet, mining the genesis block and receiving a 50 BTC reward.

The block’s hash famously contains the headline “Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks” from the British newspaper The Times.

Shortly before launching the network, on October 31, 2008, the Bitcoin white paper was published.

Early Transactions and Mystery Surrounding Satoshi

The first Bitcoin transaction took place on January 12, 2009, when Satoshi Nakamoto sent 10 BTC to Hal Finney.
Three days earlier, Bitcoin software version 0.1 had been released.
To this day, Nakamoto’s identity and motives remain unknown, sparking ongoing speculation both within and outside the crypto community.

Hypothesis About Satoshi’s Return
In November 2024, a theory surfaced suggesting Satoshi never actually disappeared but became one of the largest Bitcoin whales. According to this hypothesis, the creator left the public eye and continued mining bitcoin anonymously, amassing a large fortune in wallets established around 2010.

Programmer Peter Todd—incorrectly labeled as Bitcoin’s inventor in an HBO documentary—has warned that attempts to reveal Satoshi’s identity can be harmful.

Backdrop: The 2007–2008 Financial Crisis
A likely reason for creating Bitcoin was the global financial meltdown of 2007–2008, marked by the collapse of major investment banks, production slowdowns, falling commodity prices, rising unemployment, and extensive government intervention in the economy.

Historic Highs and Recent Developments

In November 2021, Bitcoin hit an all-time high of $69,000.
In November 2024, following Donald Trump’s U.S. presidential election win, Bitcoin neared $100,000, finally surpassing that psychological barrier between December 4 and 5, and reaching around $108,000 by December 17.
It is currently trading above $96,000.