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2008 → 2025 Bitcoin events that mattered
24 moments that shaped Bitcoin, in order, each with the date, what happened and why it still matters. For the full story of every year, see year by year.
2008–2012 Genesis and the first prices
Oct 31, 2008The Bitcoin white paperOn October 31, 2008, someone using the name Satoshi Nakamoto sent a nine-page paper to a cryptography mailing list. It described a way to send money online without a bank in the middle.Jan 3, 2009The genesis blockOn January 3, 2009, the first block of the Bitcoin blockchain was created. Bitcoin’s own calendar starts on this day.Jan 12, 2009The first Bitcoin transactionOn January 12, 2009, Satoshi Nakamoto sent 10 bitcoins to the cryptographer Hal Finney. It was the first Bitcoin transaction between two people.May 22, 2010Bitcoin Pizza DayOn May 22, 2010, a programmer named Laszlo Hanyecz paid 10,000 BTC for two pizzas. It is the best-known first real-world Bitcoin purchase.Feb 9, 2011Bitcoin reaches $1In February 2011, one bitcoin was worth one US dollar for the first time.Nov 28, 2012The first Bitcoin halvingOn November 28, 2012, at block 210,000, the reward for mining a block fell from 50 BTC to 25 BTC. It was the first halving.
2013–2016 Headlines, hacks and halvings
Oct 1, 2013The Silk Road shutdownOn October 1, 2013, US authorities shut down Silk Road, a darknet marketplace that accepted Bitcoin, and arrested its operator.Nov 2013Bitcoin passes $1,000In late November 2013, Bitcoin traded above $1,000 for the first time, a gain of roughly a hundred-fold in a year and a half.Feb 2014The Mt. Gox collapseIn February 2014, Mt. Gox, then the world’s largest Bitcoin exchange, stopped withdrawals and later filed for bankruptcy protection in Japan.Jul 9, 2016The second Bitcoin halvingOn July 9, 2016, at block 420,000, the block reward fell from 25 BTC to 12.5 BTC.
2017–2020 Mania, winter and institutions
Aug 1, 2017Bitcoin Cash splits offOn August 1, 2017, part of the community split from Bitcoin to create Bitcoin Cash, a new coin with bigger blocks.Aug 24, 2017SegWit activatesOn August 24, 2017, Segregated Witness (SegWit) activated, the biggest change to Bitcoin’s rules since launch.Dec 2017Bitcoin futures launch in the USIn December 2017, the Cboe and then the CME began trading Bitcoin futures, the first regulated US derivatives on Bitcoin.Mar 12, 2020Black ThursdayOn March 12, 2020, Bitcoin dropped by more than a third in a single day as markets worldwide sold off in the first panic of the pandemic.May 11, 2020The third Bitcoin halvingOn May 11, 2020, at block 630,000, the block reward fell from 12.5 BTC to 6.25 BTC.
2021–2026 Bitcoin goes mainstream
Sep 7, 2021El Salvador makes Bitcoin legal tenderOn September 7, 2021, El Salvador became the first country to make Bitcoin legal tender alongside the US dollar.Nov 10, 2021Bitcoin’s 2021 recordOn November 10, 2021, Bitcoin reached a record of about $69,000.Nov 14, 2021Taproot activatesOn November 14, 2021, Taproot activated at block 709,632, Bitcoin’s first major upgrade since SegWit.May 2022The Terra and Luna collapseIn May 2022, the stablecoin TerraUSD lost its dollar peg and its sister token Luna fell to almost nothing, wiping out tens of billions of dollars.Nov 2022The FTX collapseIn November 2022, FTX, one of the largest crypto exchanges, collapsed within days and filed for bankruptcy on November 11.Jan 10, 2024US spot Bitcoin ETFs approvedOn January 10, 2024, the US Securities and Exchange Commission approved the first spot Bitcoin ETFs, and trading began the next day.Apr 20, 2024The fourth Bitcoin halvingOn April 20, 2024, at block 840,000, the block reward fell from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC.Dec 5, 2024Bitcoin crosses $100,000In early December 2024, one Bitcoin cost more than $100,000 for the first time.Mar 6, 2025The US Strategic Bitcoin ReserveOn March 6, 2025, the US President signed an executive order creating a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve.
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