Bitcoin's Incredible Journey: A 15-Year Retrospective

On this day 15 years ago, 15 BTC were sold for just 1 cent, a staggering contrast to Bitcoin's current value.

Bitcoin historian Pete Rizzo shared this intriguing fact on X: "15 years ago today, you could buy 15 Bitcoin for 1 cent."

In late 2009, Bitcoin was still budding. Launched by the enigmatic Satoshi Nakamoto in January, it was a concept known only to a handful of enthusiasts and cryptographers. Bitcoin's price never exceeded $1 in 2009 or 2010, with its highest price in 2010 at $0.39.

During Bitcoin's early days, there were no exchanges like those we have today. The BitcoinTalk forum launched in late 2009, paving the way for exchanges where users could buy and sell Bitcoin for fiat currency.

Fast forward 15 years, Bitcoin has evolved into a global financial asset with a market capitalization of $1.944 trillion. From nearly $0.000066 per BTC in late 2009 to its current trading price of $98,201, Bitcoin's growth has been meteoric.

Bitcoin Price Action

Bitcoin (BTC) remains steady above $98,000, pending the release of U.S. inflation statistics later Wednesday.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics is set to release the consumer price index (CPI) for November at 8:30 a.m. ET (1:30 p.m. UTC). Federal Reserve Chair Powell indicated that upcoming economic data will heavily influence interest-rate decisions, potentially impacting crypto markets in the coming year. Previous data showed the Fed's ongoing concerns about inflation.

A recent Coin Shares report revealed that digital asset investment products saw record weekly inflows last week, totaling $3.85 billion. Bitcoin attracted inflows of $2.5 billion, Short Bitcoin had modest inflows of $6.2 million, while Ethereum experienced its largest-ever weekly inflows of $1.2 billion. Solana, on the other hand, saw outflows of $14 million.

This article was originally published on U.Today