Fifteen years ago today, the cryptocurrency market was a different landscape. According to Bitcoin historian Pete Rizzo, on this date 15 years ago, you could buy 1 Bitcoin (BTC) for just $0.50. This extremely low price of 50 cents contrasts sharply with Bitcoin’s present worth, currently in six figures.
FUN FACT: 15 years ago today, you could buy 1 #Bitcoin for only $0.50 ✨ pic.twitter.com/tRA6no11h5
— The Bitcoin Historian (@pete_rizzo_) January 20, 2025
In January 2010, Bitcoin was still in its infancy, with little awareness and a low price. Launched a year earlier, in January 2009, by its pseudonymous creator(s) Satoshi Nakamoto, Bitcoin at the time was a niche innovation discussed exclusively among cryptography enthusiasts and a few early adopters.
The first known Bitcoin transaction occurred in May 2010, when programmer Laszlo Hanyecz famously paid 10,000 BTC for two pizzas. Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market cap, has come a long way from its humble beginnings.
Fast forward to the present, and Bitcoin’s worth has skyrocketed. From a price of $0.50 15 years back, Bitcoin has reached all-time highs, with prices reaching six figures. At the time of writing, BTC was trading above $106,000.
Bitcoin hits new all-time; what indicators say
Bitcoin climbed to a fresh record in the early Monday session, reaching all-time highs of $109,358. Bitcoin had risen from lows of $99,416, posting a major green daily candlestick.
At the time of writing, BTC was up 2.21% at $106,960, according to CoinMarketCap data.
On-chain analytics firm Glassnode indicated that as Bitcoin approached a new all-time high above $109,000, long-term holder NUPL has crossed the 0.75 threshold, associated with the euphoria/greed phase of the market cycle.
A recapture of the short-term holder’s profitability momentum was observed, as expressed by BTC’s STH MVRV, currently at 1.16 — above the one-year trendline of 1.1. A notable uptick in Bitcoin’s Futures Perpetual Funding Rate was also observed, reaching around 0.035%, the highest level since Dec. 5.
