11 events · 2008 → today
Bitcoin’s history, measured
Not folklore — the primary facts, plus the SatsAtlas twist: where an event involves a famous amount of bitcoin, we price it at today’s live rate. The pizzas keep getting more expensive.
2008-10-31
The whitepaper (31 Oct 2008)
Satoshi Nakamoto publishes nine pages that specify peer-to-peer electronic cash.
2009-01-03
The genesis block (3 Jan 2009)
Block 0 is mined, with a bank-bailout headline embedded in it forever.
2010-05-22
Bitcoin Pizza Day (22 May 2010)
Laszlo Hanyecz pays 10,000 BTC for two pizzas — the first documented real-world purchase.
2012-11-28
The first halving (28 Nov 2012)
Block 210,000 cuts the subsidy from 50 to 25 BTC — the schedule holds.
2014-02-28
The Mt. Gox collapse (Feb 2014)
The biggest exchange loses ~850,000 BTC — custody becomes lesson one.
2017-08-24
SegWit activates (24 Aug 2017)
The blocksize war ends: users running nodes, not companies, set Bitcoin’s rules.
2018-03-15
Lightning reaches mainnet (Mar 2018)
The payments layer goes live: instant, near-free bitcoin transactions.
2020-11-04
The Silk Road seizure lands on-chain (Nov 2020)
The US government takes custody of 69,370 BTC in a single transaction.
2021-09-07
El Salvador makes Bitcoin legal tender (7 Sep 2021)
The first country adopts Bitcoin as legal tender — the nation-state era begins.
2022-11-11
The FTX collapse (Nov 2022)
The second-largest exchange implodes in a week — Gox’s lesson, retaught.
2024-01-11
US spot ETFs begin trading (11 Jan 2024)
After a decade of rejections, Wall Street gets direct bitcoin exposure.
Price by year since 2012 → · The glossary → · Go deeper: the Bitcoin history podcast →