On this day 15 years ago, 15 BTC were sold for just 1 cent, something that now seems almost unbelievable given Bitcoin’s current value.
Bitcoin historian Pete Rizzo shared this fascinating tidbit of history as a fun fact on X, saying: “15 years ago today, you could buy 15 Bitcoin for 1 cent.”
FUN FACT: 15 years ago today, you could buy 15 #Bitcoin for 1 cent ✨ pic.twitter.com/S3mBjM1EQk
— The Bitcoin Historian (@pete_rizzo_) December 11, 2024
In late 2009, Bitcoin was still in its infancy. Launched by the mysterious Satoshi Nakamoto in January of that year, Bitcoin was a novel concept known only to a small number of enthusiasts and cryptographers. Bitcoin’s price never reached $1 in 2009 or 2010. Its highest price in 2010 was $0.39.
In the early days of Bitcoin, there were no exchanges that resembled those available today. The BitcoinTalk forum went live in late 2009, and soon after, the notion of an exchange where users could buy and sell Bitcoin for fiat currency was introduced.
Fast forward 15 years, and Bitcoin has become a global financial asset, now with a market capitalization of $1.944 trillion. From a value of nearly $0.000066 per BTC in late 2009 to now trading at $98,201, Bitcoin has seen a meteoric rise.
Bitcoin price action
Bitcoin (BTC) held steady above $98,000 ahead of the release of U.S. inflation statistics later Wednesday.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics will issue the consumer price index (CPI) for November at 8:30 a.m. ET (1:30 p.m. UTC). Federal Reserve Chair Powell has stated that incoming economic data will substantially influence interest-rate decisions, which may have an impact on crypto markets in the new year. The prior month’s data indicated that the Fed remained concerned about inflation.
According to the most recent Coin Shares report, digital asset investment products experienced the highest weekly inflows on record last week, totaling $3.85 billion.
Bitcoin saw inflows of $2.5 billion, Short Bitcoin saw tepid inflows of $6.2 million, Ethereum saw its largest weekly inflows on record of $1.2 billion and Solana saw outflows of $14 million.
