Bitcoin smashed through the $100,000 barrier on Thursday, rewriting its own chaotic and unpredictable history. The record-breaking run was supercharged by Donald Trump’s election victory, with markets betting on a regulatory overhaul.
Bitcoin has climbed over 140% this year, more than doubling from its January low of $38,505. The election has added over 50% to its value since Nov. 5.
This monumental rise, though historic, didn’t happen overnight. Bitcoin’s journey is one of invention, defiance, crashes, and comebacks. From a $41 pizza order to becoming the face of a trillion-dollar market, its story is every bit as wild as its price chart. Now let’s take a walk back.
From Satoshi to the Winklevoss twins
Bitcoin was created in 2008 by an anonymous figure (or group) named Satoshi Nakamoto. The idea was revolutionary:- Here was a digital currency that could operate without banks or governments.
In 2010, Bitcoin made headlines when a Florida man spent 10,000 BTC to buy two Papa John’s pizzas. Those pizzas, now worth $1 billion, were the currency’s first retail transaction and cemented its place in financial history.
In 2013, Bitcoin began attracting serious attention. Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, known for their legal feud with Mark Zuckerberg over Facebook, took a shot at legitimizing Bitcoin. They filed the first-ever application with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for a spot Bitcoin ETF.
Around the same time, Grayscale Investments launched the Bitcoin Investment Trust, offering a new way for investors to gain exposure to Bitcoin.
The SEC, however, was not happy. Over the years (before 2023), the Winklevoss twins adjusted their ETF applications multiple times, even naming State Street as an administrator. Despite these changes, their requests were rejected in 2017, and since then, they have not refiled or received new approval.
Regulatory struggles and market crashes
While Bitcoin fought for legitimacy, the crypto market was plagued with volatility. In 2020, Grayscale made progress by transforming its trust into a publicly traded entity. Though not an ETF, it became the first Bitcoin fund of its kind to be traded on public markets in the U.S.
Meanwhile, Canada was leading the way, launching the first-ever spot Bitcoin ETF in 2021. That same year, the SEC approved the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF, the first Bitcoin futures-based ETF. It broke records by accumulating $1 billion in assets within days.
But this wasn’t what the crypto world had been waiting for. Spot ETFs remained elusive as the SEC continued rejecting applications, including a new one from Grayscale in 2022. Frustrated, Grayscale sued the SEC, marking a turning point in the battle for regulatory approval.
At the same time, the market was dealing with internal chaos. 2022 saw a series of collapses, including major players like Celsius Network, Three Arrows Capital, and FTX. FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried faced fraud charges as Bitcoin’s price plunged.
Despite the turmoil, industry leaders like BlackRock, Fidelity, and Invesco began filing applications for spot Bitcoin ETFs, kickstarting a change in institutional confidence.
The crypto president
In 2023, Bitcoin began to recover. BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, entered the ETF race, pushing Bitcoin’s price to a one-year high. Other players, including ARK Investments and CBOE Global Markets, joined the push.
In August, Grayscale scored a major win when a federal appeals court ruled that the SEC had failed to justify its rejection of the company’s ETF application. This legal victory paved the way for change.
By January 2024, the SEC finally approved 11 spot Bitcoin ETFs, including BlackRock’s and Fidelity’s. Within a month, these funds attracted $4 billion in net inflows, reflecting the pent-up demand for Bitcoin-backed products. Bitcoin’s price soared, breaking $70,000 by March.
Meanwhile, self-proclaimed ‘crypto president’ Donald Trump’s campaign rhetoric fueled the crypto market’s optimism. At a San Francisco fundraiser in June, he criticized Democrats for their restrictive stance on cryptocurrency.
In July, he doubled down, promising at a Bitcoin conference to create a national Bitcoin stockpile if re-elected. His pro-crypto stance resonated with investors, pushing Bitcoin’s price higher.
In October, the SEC granted accelerated approval for exchanges to list options tied to Bitcoin ETFs.
Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev captured the industry’s sentiment, saying, “This administration has been hostile to crypto, very much so. We’ve been kind of a victim of that alongside the broader industry. So having people that come in, that understand it and embrace it, is very important for the industry.”
Bitcoin’s rise to $100,000 is a story of resilience and evolution. As all this dust settles though, one thing is clear: Bitcoin isn’t ever going anywhere.
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