The 5 Biggest Moments in Bitcoin (and Crypto) History
2021 has been one hell of a year for crypto — from reaching All Time Highs and national adoption to experiencing gut-wrenching crashes. This is par for the course for crypto, which often has times like this. This time, it’s just been heavily reported since the industry is bigger than ever. To those who’re a little late to the ride, here’s my pick of the most important, thrilling moments in crypto history.
#1 El Salvador Legalisation
This is arguably the most important moment for crypto since Bitcoin was invented. El Salvador making Bitcoin legal tender was a moment the community truly waited a decade for. It also marks the beginning of what I hope will be a cascading effect on crypto adoption. We loved the 2017 bull run (more on that below), but few will disagree that 2021 can claim a special place in Bitcoin history because of this single event — El Savlador’s adoption of Bitcoin.
#2 The Crypto Bull Run of 2017
2021 has been the first bull run year for many people. But to those who’ve been in the game for longer, 2017 brings fond memories. Going from less than $1,000 to $20,000 between January and December, 2017 was a great year for Bitcoin. Thousands of millionaires were made, and crypto’s first steps into mainstream adoption were taken here. Ethereum too went from just $10 in January 2017 to $1400+! Sure, a big crash followed. But what a time it was to be alive!
#3 Ethereum’s Flash Crash
This one is a personal favorite of mine. In June 2017, the price of one of my preferred cryptos — Ethereum, dropped from 99.9% — from $296 to $0.10. And all of this happened within minutes. The exchange in question was GDAX, and the culprit was a multi-million dollar transaction. It triggered stop losses — about 800 of them — throughout the exchange, causing a mass of sell orders that drove the price crashing as there just wasn’t enough demand. The price recovered, of course. But congratulations to those who bought Ethereum that cheap!
#4 — Bitcoin hits $100 billion in market cap in Oct 2017
Today, Bitcoin is worth almost a trillion. Barely 4 years ago, it was worth a tenth of that. It was in October 2017 that Bitcoin’s market capitalization hit $100 billion for the first time in its life — almost bang in the middle of the 2017 bull run. This was naturally a huge media event that had everyone wanting to invest in Bitcoin, driving its market cap beyond $200 and even $300 billion pretty soon.
#5 — The Creation of Altcoins (and Ethereum)
2011 and 2015 were important years for Bitcoin and crypto. In April 2021, we saw the launch of the first-ever altcoin -Namecoin. It was invented by a developer who went by the name of ‘Vinced’ and launched in April 2011. Soon, the same year, we saw Litecoin and many others emerge. About 5 years later, we had Ethereum, created by the legendary Vitalik Buterin. Today, it’s a very clear large market crypto, with a fan rivalling that of Bitcoin. It’s why its invention is considered by many of us to be a hugely important event for the industry. Launched at a price of $0.31, it traded at nearly $4,000 in September 2021. during a presale.
Remember — this list will continue to get bigger. We’ve only just started the revolution of our generation. Follow me on Medium for more about Bitcoin, crypto, blockchains and everything we love about the industry!
