After reading "Digital Gold", I wonder how Bitcoin went from 0.001 to 37,000 US dollars?

I have recently been reading Nathaniel Popper's "Digital Gold", which has given me a deeper understanding of the people and events in the early development of Bitcoin.

This book introduces the little-known stories of Bitcoin. Behind each story are early supporters and promoters of Bitcoin. Without the early contributors, Bitcoin might not have reached its current state.

Digital Gold

Satoshi Nakamoto published the "Bitcoin White Paper" at the end of 2008, and the concept of Bitcoin was proposed; in 2009, the first version of Bitcoin software was released, and Bitcoin mining was started. From then on, a new era of cryptocurrency began.

Among the early supporters, Hal, Madi, and Gavin were all promoters. After reading the Bitcoin white paper, they were impressed by the concept and took action to support the development of Bitcoin and introduce it to more people.

Hal was the first person to assist Satoshi Nakamoto in testing the Bitcoin mining software. He also gave Satoshi Nakamoto a lot of support and advice. He was the first person in the cypherpunk community to support Satoshi Nakamoto.

Madi runs the Bitcoin website, which provides more people with a way to access and understand Bitcoin; Gavin optimizes and improves the Bitcoin source code, allowing Bitcoin to operate more safely and stably;

Laszlo optimized the Bitcoin GPU mining method and mined a large amount of BTC. He was also the first person to exchange 10,000 Bitcoins for 2 pizzas, transforming the value of Bitcoin from virtual to real.

Laszlo bought 2 pizzas with 10,000 BTC

Jed founded Mt.Gox, and Mark continued to promote the development of Mt.Gox, attracting a large number of users, pushing up Bitcoin trading volume, and lowering the threshold for Bitcoin participation. Mt.Gox can also be used to understand the real-time price of Bitcoin and track market fluctuations and changes.

Ross founded the Silk Road, which allowed Bitcoin to circulate and trade. The Silk Road website was eventually shut down, but it inspired more people to explore the correct value applications and consumption scenarios of Bitcoin.

Early participants jointly promoted the development of Bitcoin and organized many offline gatherings to discuss the basic applications and implementation methods of Bitcoin; they promoted cryptocurrency from a few people to more people and expanded the user base of Bitcoin.

In the early days, some technology giants, Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, and even Wall Street old money invested in Bitcoin and Bitcoin-related projects.

If you purchased $25,000 in 2011, you could get more than 13,000 bitcoins, which could increase the price by 75%, from $1.89 to $3.3. Early investment has huge room for appreciation.

When Mt.Gox users were unable to withdraw money, they blocked Mark and asked for an explanation

When Bitcoin’s market value first exceeded $1 billion in 2013, early participants cheered, and at that time the support price of Bitcoin was only $91.26.

2013 is known as the first year of Bitcoin in China, when Bitcoin began to take root in the domestic market.

That year, Yang Linke and Huang Xiaoyu co-founded Bitcoin China, where users could purchase BTC in a simple way. Later, Li Qiyuan invested in Bitcoin China, driving its growth and development.

Chinese players now have a relatively convenient way to buy BTC. Although the number of participants is very small, they have begun to discuss and pay attention.

In 2014, Guangdong TV's TV program "The Truth About Bitcoin" invited economists and early Bitcoin participants to discuss Bitcoin.

On the show, Li Qiyuan introduced Bitcoin and Satoshi Nakamoto to the public, and believed that BTC will continue to develop;

Economist Lang Xianping scoffed at the value of BTC and looked down on it completely, believing that BTC was just worthless air. He also made a statement that has been passed down to this day: "If you give me Bitcoin, I won't take it." I wonder if Mr. Lang has changed his opinion now.

Innovation and development are coming in full force. What we looked down upon back then is now out of reach. When facing any new thing, we should be more open-minded and not dismiss it with one blow.

TV show The Truth About Bitcoin

A few days ago, a big guy in the group shared a screenshot of the Chinese Bitcoin exchange group created in 2013.

It is not known whether these Chinese tycoons who came into contact with Bitcoin 10 years ago are still active in the market, whether they have accumulated a lot of wealth, or have founded many applications and businesses in the crypto market.

The early market grew wildly, and the cost of trial and error was lower. Of course, failure was possible, but a few people who seized the opportunity gained huge opportunities.

2013 China's Hardcore Cryptocurrency Players

The story of "Digital Gold" only goes up to 2014.

At that time, Mt.Gox was hacked and 650,000 BTC were stolen; some countries issued Bitcoin risk notices, clearly stipulating that Bitcoin does not have the status of legal tender and cannot be circulated as legal tender in the market, and the BTC price plummeted.

The development of Bitcoin has fallen into confusion again, with ups and downs, rising and falling, and there is a risk of returning to zero at any time.

In 2017, the Bitcoin bull market returned, and Bitcoin broke through the $20,000 mark, and then entered a bear market that lasted for three years. Many people left the market in frustration, and many people lost everything in the market.

In 2021, the bull market returned again, and the price of Bitcoin broke through a new high again, rising to a historical high of 69k US dollars, and then entered a bear market again. In 2023, the price of Bitcoin is now fluctuating at 37k US dollars. The next trend still needs the promotion and innovation of this group of people in the current market.

What will happen to BTC in 10 years?

It has been 14 years since the first Bitcoin was mined in 2009; the price of Bitcoin has also increased 37 million times from the initial mining cost of US$0.001 to more than US$37,000 now.

The BTC market has experienced many historical moments when it almost returned to zero, and there were also moments when it was ridiculed and mocked when it was introduced to the mainstream media and the public, but Bitcoin has persisted until now.

No one can simply predict how BTC will develop in the future, but opportunities are always there, accompanied by huge risks.

Faith and speculation are driving the development of Bitcoin at the same time. We are also in the tide of the times. I wish us all a bright crypto future.

The above is just my personal opinion, not investment advice. I am Chuxiaolian, and I am paying attention to the crypto market and web3.