Recently, Bitcoin hit a new all-time high again, and many remembered how it all started. I looked into the archives and was amazed at the journey the cryptocurrency has taken over a decade and a half.

It turns out, the first Bitcoin trades took place on October 5, 2009. Can you imagine? The Bitcoin price in 2009 was only $0.00764 per coin. Someone back then exchanged $1 for 1309 BTC — that was even funny by the standards of that time. If that person had sold those coins today, they would have received about $105,000.

After launch, the price moved slowly. In 2010, BTC was worth $0.30, and in 2011, it rose to $4.25. But 2013 was an explosion. Bitcoin's price skyrocketed from $13.51 at the start of the year to $751 by the end. A 5,457% increase in 12 months! The local peak in November 2013 reached $1163.

Then there were dips and surges. 2014 saw a 57% crash, but Bitcoin recovered afterward. 2017 brought a rise to $14,156, with a local peak around $20,000 in December. In 2018, there was a bloody crash of 73%, with the price falling to $3,742. But even after that, the coin didn't give up.

2020 saw a 302% increase, with Bitcoin rising from $7,193 to $28,949. In 2021, it approached $69,000. 2022 was sad — a 64% drop, but 2023 recovered by 161%, reaching $43,196.

Now, in 2026, Bitcoin is trading around $80K, although it recently hit $126K. If someone bought 10 BTC at the beginning of 2024 at $43K and still holds, their profit would be about $500,000 to $600k. Crazy numbers when you remember Bitcoin's price in 2009 in pennies.