The first Bitcoin genesis block — famously known as block 0 — was mined on Jan. 3, 2009. Over the past 16 years, more than 1.13 billion transactions have been permanently recorded across roughly 800,000 blocks on the decentralized Bitcoin blockchain.
Bitcoin genesis block. Source: Bitcoin Magazine
Bitcoin (BTC) creator Satoshi Nakamoto embedded a headline from the United Kingdom-based newspaper, The Times, in the genesis block: “The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks.” The message was a critique of traditional financial systems and government bailouts during the 2008 global financial crisis.
The Times front page headlines on Jan. 3, 2009
Bitcoin mainstream adoption becomes inevitable
When Bitcoin first launched in 2009, it was dismissed as an obscure experiment in digital money. However, Nakamoto’s vision took shape a decade later as unstable economies started eyeing Bitcoin as a hedge against fiat currency inflation and growing dependence on the United States dollar.
As institutions, governments and individuals increasingly recognized its potential as a store of value and medium of exchange, El Salvador became the first country to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender in 2021. In addition to allowing citizens open access to the Bitcoin economy, the government has since accumulated over 6,000 BTC over time, which is worth around $570 million at current prices.
Several countries, including the US, China, the United Kingdom and Ukraine, hold large bags of Bitcoin today.
Number of countries holding Bitcoin. Source: BitcoinTreasuries.NET by Bitbo
Keeping up with growing technical requirements
As Bitcoin’s adoption grows, the network’s computational demands have risen exponentially. Network difficulty, a relative measure of how difficult it is to mine a new block for the blockchain, has reached a new high of 110 trillion.
Related: Bitcoin ETFs approach $110B as analyst calls $200K BTC in 2025
To maintain profitability amid increasing difficulty and operational costs, Bitcoin miners like Bitfarms, Hut 8 and Hive Digital spent much of 2024 upgrading their mining equipment. Despite a…
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