Happy Birthday Bitcoin: From Pizza to $100K in 16 Years

On January 3, 2009, Bitcoin was launched by its anonymous creator, Satoshi Nakamoto. The first block of the blockchain, known as the genesis block, was mined on that day, producing 50 BTC. Embedded within the block was a reference to contemporary financial turmoil: “The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks.” These…