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Cryptocurrency has changed the financial world as we once knew it. Below, we have rounded up some of the most important and interesting moments in crypto’s history to date. Some of these are celebrated annually, whereas others may have largely been forgotten as time and progress in the industry marched on.
Before there was crypto, Bitcoin, Ethereum or digital wallets – there was eCash. eCash was created by David Chaum, who had the idea for anonymous, electronic money for safe transfer of funds. His idea, published in an academic paper, was the invention of a ‘blinding formula’, using advanced cryptography and encryption to send and receive digital tokens. eCash had minimal success in the USA, but found more popularity in Europe as part of Chaum’s newly formed company, DigiCash. eCash was available through Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank and Posten AB, with some traction in Japan and Australia. Today, eCash is considered the very first cryptocurrency.
Bitcoin.org was registered as a website in August 2008. It was later that year that Bitcoin’s inventor, Satoshi Nakamoto, released an academic paper titled ‘Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System’. Although 2009 is the year that Bitcoin truly began, it was clear that Nakamoto was ready to launch much earlier.
With Bitcoin fervor increasing, the number of crypto enthusiasts was growing. On one fateful day in May 2010, a Florida resident named Laszlo Hanyecz went onto a popular Bitcoin forum and asked if anyone wanted to send him a couple of pizzas for 10,000 Bitcoins. A British man – who has remained anonymous to this day – took him up on the offer and sent the pizzas to Laszlo from his local Papa John’s. This was the first time cryptocurrency had been used to buy a product, and a defining moment in crypto history was born. It is still celebrated every May 22nd.
Julian Assange’s WikiLeaks organization became one of the first to accept Bitcoin donations. This ruffled a number of feathers across the world in financial institutions and governments, two entities that could not touch Bitcoin. The exact reason why WikiLeaks looked to cryptocurrency for donation support.
The first Bitcoin halving took place in 2012, with the block reward reduced from 50 BTC to 25 BTC per block. The event now occurs roughly once every 4 years, and this was the historic first. The halving was a huge step in proving how Bitcoin could be sustainable into the future, and the ups and downs of life on the crypto markets.
Dogecoin was the first most popular memecoin. Using the famous Doge meme – of an unimpressed Shiba Inu with its front paws crossed – it reached a much larger demographic of interested users. Its initial fundraisers included Doge4Water, raising money to send the Jamaican bobsled team to the Sochi Olympics.
July saw the launch of Bitcoin’s first serious rival: Ethereum. Although Ethereum was first created in 2013 by Canadian developer Vitalik Buterin, it took until their first fundraiser when 72 million coins could be minted.
Christie’s is the most famous auction house in the world, and was founded in 1766 by James Christie in King Street, London. Since then, they have sold everything from art to wine, to handbags and watches. And, in March 2021, they facilitated the sale of their first NFT: Beeple’s Everydays: The First 5,000 Days which sold for $69 million.
In 2021, El Salvador became the first country to make Bitcoin an official currency. This was done to boost financial inclusion, job creation and to help with remittances. They launched the Chivo Wallet, which offered accessibility and ability to pay, withdraw and make deposits in US dollars and Bitcoin. El Savlador has not given any official report on how this new policy has gone, but preliminary reports by external academics show that El Salvadorians are willing but cautious. The Central African Republic became the second country in 2022.
With a post-COVID-19 boost needed, crypto companies looked to sponsorship opportunities that hit the world stage. That came at Super Bowl 2022, during which FTX, Coinbase and Crypto.com were just some of the brands launching ads during the premiere Super Bowl slots. Bud Light even incorporated NFTs into their half time ads.
FTX’s ‘Don’t be like Larry’ ad, starring comedian Larry David sarcastically criticizing major innovations throughout history including the wheel, the fork and then finally FTX, ended up to be a rather unfortunate foreshadowing of the company’s demise later in the year.
The fourth Bitcoin halving took place in April 2024, reducing miners rewards per block from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC. The next one will take place in 2028.
In May 2024, the world sadly said goodbye to Kasuro – the famous Shiba Inu whose side-eye became the huge internet meme ‘Doge’. The famous image then became the heart and soul of the crypto Dogecoin. Kasuro was rescued as a puppy by a Japanese primary school teacher, and died peacefully at home at the grand age of 18. Such mourn. Many sad.
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