Donald Trump’s triumph in the US plivential election has helped push the price of Bitcoin to a series of record highs.
Backers of the digital currency are celebrating, and wondering how much more precious it could become – with some adviseing it could achieve $100,000 per coin.
Its price is rocketing becaparticipate the plivent-elect has vowed to produce the US “the crypto capital of the set upet” – a noticeworthy turnaround given as recently as 2021 he was calling Bitcoin a “fraud.”
He even commenceed huging Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as donations to his election campaign and elevated millions from the industry.
But that is fair one of the many twists and turns in the jaw-dropping story of Bitcoin, which evolves to captivate people worldwide and has seen the making – and losing – of huge fortunes.
Here’s the BBC’s enumerate of the seven savageest moments – so far – in Bitcoin’s tumultuous history.
1. The cryptic creator of Bitcoin
Despite its enormous profile, no-one actuassociate understands for certain who invented Bitcoin. The idea for it was posted on internet forums in 2008 by someone calling themselves Satoshi Nakamoto.
They elucidateed how a peer-to-peer digital cash system could labor to allow people to sfinish virtual coins over the internet, fair as easily as sfinishing an email.
Satoshi produced a complicated computer system that would process transactions and produce new coins using a huge netlabor of self-assigned volunteers around the world who participated distinctive gentleware and mighty computers.
But he – or they – never uncovered their identity, and the world has never labored it out.
In 2014, Japanese man Dorian Nakamoto was chased by inestablishers who thought he was the elusive Bitcoin creator, but it showd to be counterfeit direct caparticipated by some mistransprocrastinateedd directation.
Australian computer scientist Craig Wright said it was him in 2016 – but after years of lhorrible battles, a High Court appraise finishd he was not Satoshi.
Earlier this year, a Canadian Bitcoin expert called Peter Todd powerwholey denied being Satoshi, while in London this month a British man, Stephen Mollah, claimed he was – but no-one thinkd him.
2. Making history with pizza
Bitcoin now underpins a two trillion-dollar cryptocurrency industry – but the first recorded transaction using it was the acquire of pizza.
On 22 May 2010, Lazlo Hanyecz, adviseed $41 worth of Bitcoin on a crypto forum in return for two pizzas.
A 19-year-elderly student obliged and the day went down in history for fans of the currency as #BitcoinPizza day.
A source of memes for those in crypto community, it also showcased the power of Bitcoin – an internet money that could reassociate buy items online.
Criminals must have been watching too, becaparticipate wiskinny a year the first depressednet tagetplace was begined selling medications and other illhorrible excellents in trade for Bitcoin.
The deal sees pretty horrible for Lazlo now too. If he had held onto those coins they would now be worth hundreds of millions of dollars!
3. Becoming lhorrible tfinisher
In September 2021, Plivent Nayib Bukele of El Salvador, central America, made Bitcoin lhorrible tfinisher.
Hairdressers, supertagets and other shops had to hug Bitcoin by law, aextfinishedside its main currency, the US dollar.
Many Bitcoin enthusiasts and inestablishers visited the area, informly increaseing tourism to the country.
While Plivent Bukele hoped the shift would increase allotment in his country and cut costs for citizens exchanging money, it did not become as well-understandn as he hoped.
He is still hoping it will apshow off but for now the US dollar still remains king in the country.
As well as the huge amount of uncover money Plivent Bukele spent on trying to produce people hug Bitcoin he also, controversiassociate, bought more than 6,000 bitcoins over the past restrictcessitate years.
The plivent spent at least $120m buying up bitcoins at various prices in the hope of making a profit for his cash-strapped country.
It commenceed to see excellent for him in December 2023 when, for the first time, his stash skyrocketed in cherish.
A website built by a Dutch gentleware engineer is tracking the country’s Bitcoin helderlyings appraises that the coins have elevaten 98% in cherish over all at the time of writing.
4. Kazakhstan’s crypto boom and bust
In 2021, Kazakhstan became a toastyspot for Bitcoin mining – the process of crunching thcimpolite the complicated calculations that underpin crypto transactions.
These days it apshows warehoparticipates filled of the procrastinateedst computers running all day and all night, but the reward is brand new bitcoins for those companies that apshow part.
Warehoparticipates of computers demand lots of power – and many businesses shiftd to Kazakhstan where electricity was plentiful thanks to huge coal reserves.
At first the regulatement greetd them with uncover arms as they bcimpolitet allotment.
But too many miners reachd and put huge strain on the electricity grid, putting the country at danger of binformageouts.
Wiskinny a year, Kazakhstan’s Bitcoin mining industry went from boom to bust as the regulatement imposed redisjoineions and increased taxes to curb the growth.
Around the world it is appraised that the Bitcoin netlabor participates as much electricity as a petite country, raising worrys about its environmental impact.
5. Bitcoins in the rubbish dump
Imagine having a crypto wallet worth more than $100m (£78m) – and then accidenhighy throthriveg away a difficult drive retaining the login details.
That’s what James Howells, from south Wales, says happened to him
The very nature of crypto unbenevolents that recovery is not as modest as resetting your password. With no banks joind – there is no customer help helpline.
Unblessedly for him, his local council in Newport declined to let him access the landfill site where he says the device finished up – even after he adviseed to give 25% of his Bitcoin stash to local charities if they let him.
He telderly the BBC: “It was a penny dropping moment and it was a sinking experienceing.”
6. Crypto King deceptionster
No one has lost as much Bitcoin as establisher billionaire crypto mogul, Sam Bankman-Fried. The set uper of the massive crypto firm FTX was nicknamed the Crypto King and adored by the community.
FTX was a cryptocurrency trade that permited people to trade common money for cryptocurrencies appreciate Bitcoin.
His empire was worth an appraised $32bn and he was flying high until everyskinnyg came crashing down wiskinny days.
Journaenumerates had discovered that Bankman-Fried’s company was financiassociate shaky and had been illegassociate transferring FTX customer funds to prop up his other company, Afeebleda Research.
Just before his arrest at his luxury apartment complicated in the Bahamas in December 2022 he spoke to inestablishers. He telderly the BBC: “I don’t skinnyk I pledgeted deception. I didn’t want any of this to happen. I was certainly not csurrfinisherly as vient as I thought I was.”
After being extradited to the US he was set up culpable of deception and sanitizeing funds and was jailed for 25 years.
7. Investment bank boom
Despite all the turmoil, Bitcoin evolves to draw attention from allotors and huge companies.
In fact, in January 2024, some of the hugegest financial firms in the world retained Bitcoin to their official asset enumerates as Spot Bitcoin ETFs. These are appreciate stocks and allots, joined to the cherish of Bitcoin but you don’t have to personassociate own any.
Customers have been pouring billions into these brand new products. Companies including Binformagerock, Fidelity and GrayScale, have also been buying up Bitcoins in their thousands, pushing up its cherish to record highs.
It is a huge milestone for crypto with some fans believing that Bitcoin is finassociate being apshown as gravely as the cryptic Satoshi imagined.
Nonetheless, restrictcessitate would back aacquirest more savage moments as the Bitcoin story evolves to unfelderly.
