In April, Bitcoin reached an all-time high, providing a bonanza to early investors. Those who had not invested in it prior to that point began to see it as a way to safely and quickly pump their money. However, early investments were dangerous because nothing was known about digital assets at the time. Those who took risks, on the other hand, were handsomely rewarded. Bitcoin, which was already the world's oldest cryptocurrency, gained unprecedented popularity as a result of this. Despite its volatility, the currency appears to have settled around $40,000 (approximately Rs. 29.7 lakhs), at least for the time being. Let's take a look at Bitcoin's more than ten-year history.

How and when was Bitcoin created?

After it was first introduced in 2008, there was a lot of mystery around Bitcoin, the most notable of which was its creator: Satoshi Nakamoto, a pseudonymous individual whose true identity is still unknown. On a cryptography email list, Nakamoto submitted a paper titled Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System. This drew a lot of attention, and there was a lot of discussion about it. As of 7 p.m. IST on August 2, the price of bitcoin in India was Rs. 29.18 lakhs.

The Bitcoin software was released to the general public in 2009. It started mining, which is the process of creating new Bitcoins and transacting them on the network.

The following year, Bitcoin's value was determined. Until then, Bitcoin had only been mined; no one had ever exchanged it, therefore its true worth was unknown. Laszlo Hanyecz, a programmer, exchanged 10,000 Bitcoins for two pizzas on May 22, 2010. Those Bitcoins would be worth $389 million (approximately Rs. 2,890 crores) today if he had been able to manage his pizza desire. At the very least, the episode provided us with "Bitcoin Pizza Day."

The domination of whatever market Bitcoin had at the time was first challenged in 2011. Alternatives to Bitcoin, such as Namecoin and Litecoin, have started to emerge. These competing coins claimed to provide better services, such as faster transaction speeds, among other things. According to CoinMarketCap, a market research website, there are more than 11,000 cryptocurrencies in circulation today.

The middle years of Bitcoin

These were some of the most tumultuous years in the history of Bitcoin. Bitcoin's price plummeted for the first time in 2013, three years after it was initially priced. By that time, Bitcoin had surpassed the $1,000 (about Rs. 74,380) mark, but the price had swiftly fallen to below $300. (roughly Rs. 22,310). Mt.Gox, the world's largest Bitcoin exchange, went offline in January 2014. 850,000 Bitcoins vanished along with it, and people who had them never found out what happened to them.

Mt. Gox announced on March 20, 2014, that it has discovered 199999.99 Bitcoins in an outdated digital wallet, bringing the total number of bitcoins lost by the company down to 650,000 from 850,000. The case is still being investigated.

Bitcoins regained their $1,000 (about Rs. 74,380) value in 2015. Ethereum posed a serious threat to Bitcoin's market dominance the next year. However, Bitcoin has grown in popularity to the point where, by 2017, it was approaching $10,000 (approximately Rs. 7.4 lakhs). More people were becoming involved in the ecosystem and investing their money in it. The total market capitalization of all cryptocurrency coins has risen from $11 billion (approximately Rs. 81,820 crores) to over $300 billion this year (roughly Rs. 22,31,640 crores). As of 7 p.m. IST on August 2, the price of Ethereum in India was Rs. 1.9 lakhs.

Bitcoin now

At the start of 2018, the price of Bitcoin plummeted, losing more than 80% of its value as numerous countries tightened governmental oversight of cryptocurrency. In India, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued a note prohibiting banks from trading or assisting cryptocurrency transactions. One of the largest bitcoin heists occurred this year as well. The BitConnect Ponzi scheme defrauded investors out of $2 billion (approximately Rs. 14,880 crores).

The year 2019 began quietly. By May, though, Bitcoin had risen to above $8,000 (approximately Rs. 5.9 lakhs). Then it dropped over $1,000 (approximately Rs. 74,380) in June before rebounding to $14,000 (around Rs. 10.4 lakhs) in July. Bitcoin had a relatively nice year this year. The following year, during the epidemic, Bitcoin was still seen as a speculative investment by the likes of Warren Buffet, who stated that it has "no value." Bitcoin, on the other hand, nearly tripled in value by the end of the year, reaching an all-time high of over $28,000. (roughly Rs. 20.8 lakhs). In May 2020, the Supreme Court of India struck down the RBI circular on cryptocurrencies.

Bitcoin has experienced a roller-coaster ride so far this year. During its early months, it enjoyed the support of computer mogul Elon Musk, who eventually switched to supporting Dogecoin after environmentalists raised concerns about Bitcoin mining consuming too much energy. As of 7 p.m. IST on August 2, the Dogecoin price in India was Rs. 15.11. Bitcoin plummeted in May after reaching a lifetime high of $65,000 (approximately Rs. 48.3 lakhs). On Monday, August 2, it had recovered to some amount and was trading about $40,000 (around Rs. 29.7 lakhs).