Bitcoin was born after the 2008 financial crisis. Over the past 14 years, its journey has been marked by dramatic fluctuations. Bitcoin's underlying blockchain technology has attracted developers and researchers focused on decentralized applications and protocol layers—often called the "chain tribe."
Meanwhile, its monetary properties spawned another group: traders, miners, and cryptocurrency issuers, collectively known as the "coin tribe."
These two communities rarely overlap and often clash. Below, we explore key milestones in Bitcoin’s history—perfect for casual conversations or trivia.
Bitcoin’s First Transaction
On January 12, 2009, Satoshi Nakamoto (Bitcoin’s pseudonymous creator) sent 10 BTC to Hal Finney, a cryptographer and early cypherpunk. This test transaction predated BTC’s monetary value but marked the beginning of peer-to-peer cryptocurrency transfers.
Finney, who passed away in 2014, was the first person after Satoshi to run Bitcoin’s software. Neither could have predicted Bitcoin’s rollercoaster trajectory.
At publication time, Bitcoin’s market capitalization reached $411 billion**, while the entire crypto market surpassed **$1 trillion at its peak.
Bitcoin’s First Price
On Halloween 2008, Nakamoto published the Bitcoin whitepaper in a cryptography forum. Initially ignored, it garnered just two skeptical replies.
In May 2009, Martti Malmi, a Helsinki University student, emailed Nakamoto offering to promote Bitcoin. Nakamoto granted him access to modify Bitcoin’s core code.
They launched a Bitcoin forum that fall. One user, "NewLibertyStandard," proposed buying BTC with USD. Malmi sold 5,050 BTC for $5.02 via PayPal**—**$0.000994 per BTC.
(Today, those coins would be worth hundreds of millions.)
Bitcoin’s First Real-World Purchase: The $1B Pizza
In 2010, programmer Laszlo Hanyecz realized CPU mining was inefficient due to multitasking. He switched to GPU mining, boosting his daily yield from 50 BTC to 1,400 BTC.
After accumulating 70,000 BTC, he wondered: Can I spend this? He offered 10,000 BTC for $50**. A user traded him **$25 worth of pizza coupons—creating history’s most expensive pizza.
By 2018, Hanyecz bought two pizzas for just 0.00649 BTC.
Final Thoughts
These "firsts" laid the foundation for Bitcoin’s evolution.
Bitcoin sparked the blockchain revolution and accelerated crypto adoption, despite later noise from speculation and capital manipulation.
Was Bitcoin’s outcome what Nakamoto envisioned? Irrelevant. What matters is its role in shaping decentralized finance and digital ownership.
👉 Discover how Bitcoin continues to evolve
FAQ
Q: Who received Bitcoin’s first transaction?
A: Hal Finney, a cryptographer and early Bitcoin contributor.
Q: How much was Bitcoin’s first USD price?
A: $0.000994 per BTC (May 2009).
Q: What’s the "Billion-Dollar Pizza"?
A: A 2010 trade where 10,000 BTC bought two pizzas—now worth ~$600M.
Q: How did GPU mining impact Bitcoin?
A: It drastically increased mining efficiency, accelerating early distribution.