Launched in 2009, Bitcoin became the first decentralized blockchain network. Historical price data shows that by July 2010, Bitcoin was trading at approximately $0.05 per coin. Fast forward to today, its value has skyrocketed to over $94,800, marking an incredible increase of nearly 190,000,000% since its inception.
In this article, we’ll delve into Bitcoin’s remarkable journey, exploring the key events and developments that have shaped its 15-year history.
Key highlights:
- Bitcoin’s first recorded trade in late 2009 valued the cryptocurrency at $0.00099 per coin, with 5,050 BTC exchanged for $5.02.
- The price of Bitcoin saw its first major rally in 2011, soaring from $0.30 to $29.6, marking a nearly +10,000% increase.
- 2013 was a milestone year for Bitcoin, achieving a +5,575% growth and reaching a peak value of $1,156 against a backdrop of growing mainstream interest.
- The cryptocurrency experienced a severe drop post-2014 due to the Mt. Gox hack, leading to a two-year bear market with a low of $218.
- Bitcoin’s highest recorded value was over $94,800 in November 2024, showcasing a significant recovery from the 2022 bear market bottom and remarkable growth since its inception.
What was the price of Bitcoin in 2009?
It’s hard to find any conclusive data about when the first BTC trade was made and what the price of Bitcoin was at the time. The earliest data we could find dates back to late 2009 when users on the BitcoinTalk forum exchanged 5,050 BTC for $5.02 through PayPal, putting the price of a single coin at $0.00099.
If you bought $100 of Bitcoin at that price, that investment would be worth over $95 billion today. It is worth noting that at the time, Bitcoin was still very new and only really known to people closely familiar with cryptography and Bitcoin inventor Satoshi Nakamoto.
- Anonymous Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto executed the first BTC transaction ever in January 2009
- The first trade of BTC was recorded in late 2009 on the New Liberty Standard Exchange
- The BitcoinTalk forum users traded 5,050 BTC in exchange for $5.02, which is the first recorded BTC trade
What was the price of Bitcoin in 2010?
Our earliest Bitcoin price history dates back to July 2010 – at the time, Bitcoin was trading at $0.05. Initially, there was limited price movement between July and September. However, the price of BTC rallied in the second half of October and reached its yearly high of $0.39 in early November.
Key highlights:
- Our Bitcoin price history dates back to July 2010, when BTC was trading at just 5 cents per coin
- Bitcoin reached its highest price of the year in early November, setting its then ATH of $0.39
- In December 2010, Satoshi Nakamoto made his last public message
| Highest price | $0.39 |
|---|---|
| Lowest price | $0.05 |
| Price at the start of 2010 | $0.05 |
| Price at the end of 2010 | $0.30 |
| Yearly percentage change | +500% |
What was the price of Bitcoin in 2011?
In the first part of 2011, Bitcoin traded in a relatively narrow trading range between $0.29 and $0.75. In May, Bitcoin started mounting its first major rally, with the price reaching its peak value of $29.6 in June. The price quickly retraced and ultimately ended at $5.27 per coin at the end of the year.
Key highlights:
- In June 2011, Bitcoin mounted its first major rally, with the price increasing from $0.30 to $29.6, recording a nearly +10,000% price increase
- In April 2011, Nakamoto told a Bitcoin contributor that he had “moved on to other things,” which is the last known private correspondence the Bitcoin founder made
- In 2011, WikiLeaks and BitPay (among other companies), started accepting Bitcoin as a form of payment
| Highest price | $29.6 |
|---|---|
| Lowest price | $0.29 |
| Price at the start of 2011 | $0.30 |
| Price at the end of 2011 | $5.27 |
| Yearly percentage change | +1656% |
What was the price of Bitcoin in 2012?
The price of Bitcoin reached a high point of $13.7 in mid-August. Overall, 2012 can be characterized as a good year for BTC. While the price didn’t record some massive increases, it still benefited from a bullish trend that persisted through the second half of the year. 2012 was the year of the first Bitcoin halving, which reduced coin rewards from 50 BTC to 25 BTC.
Key highlights:
- The price of BTC increased from $5.27 to $13.30 in 2012, recording +152% price growth
- Bitcoin appeared in mainstream media for the first time, appearing in CBS’s drama The Good Wife and CNBC’s Mad Money
- The Bitcoin Foundation was launched in 2012, looking to “accelerate the global growth of Bitcoin through standardization, protection, and promotion of the open source protocol”
| Highest price | $13.70 |
|---|---|
| Lowest price | $4.41 |
| Price at the start of 2012 | $5.27 |
| Price at the end of 2012 | $13.30 |
| Yearly percentage change | +152% |
What was the price of Bitcoin in 2013?
By late 2013, Bitcoin surged past $1,000 for the first time ever and recorded an impressive +5,575% growth throughout the year. Coincidentally, 2013 was the year that Bitcoin became popular outside of IT and financial circles. Coinbase and Mt. Gox allowed regular retail investors to invest in Bitcoin, which greatly increased the demand for BTC and market liquidity.
Key highlights:
- Bitcoin gained +5,575% throughout 2013, reaching a peak value of $1,156 in December
- Mt. Gox became the most popular Bitcoin exchange, accounting for over 70% of all trading volume at its height
- Bitcoin started attracting interest from mainstream investors
| Highest price | $1,156 |
|---|---|
| Lowest price | $13.30 |
| Price at the start of 2013 | $13.30 |
| Price at the end of 2013 | $755 |
| Yearly percentage change | +5,575% |
What was the price of Bitcoin in 2014-2015?
Unfortunately, Bitcoin’s surge in price and popularity came to a screeching halt in 2014 with the hack of Mt. Gox, then the biggest crypto exchange. The hack greatly soured investor sentiment, and what followed was a two-year-long bear market that saw the price of Bitcoin drop from roughly $1,000 all the way down to $218.
Key highlights:
- Bitcoin’s price fell by as much as 75% following the Mt. Gox hack and subsequent loss of investor confidence
- It wasn’t until late 2015 that Bitcoin started to recover and bounced from $230 to end the year above $430
- Zynga, Newegg, and Dell were just some of the major companies that started experimenting with BTC payments
| Highest price | $1,062 |
|---|---|
| Lowest price | $218 |
| Price at the start of 2014 | $755 |
| Price at the end of 2015 | $430 |
| Percentage change | -45% |
What was the price of Bitcoin in 2016-2017?
Bitcoin’s price went on a massive rally between 2016 and 2017, increasing from $430 to a peak of nearly $20,000 in late 2017. By the end of the year, the crypto craze was in full swing, with many investors investing in various initial coin offerings (ICOs) and altcoins.
Key highlights:
- Bitcoin recovered from the 2014-2015 bear market and reached a new peak value just below $20,000 in late 2017
- Between 2016 and 2017, BTC’s price increased by more than +3,100%
- Bitcoin legitimacy expanded greatly, with Japan and Switzerland exploring Bitcoin’s ability to function as real money
| Highest price | $19,927 |
|---|---|
| Lowest price | $377 |
| Price at the start of 2016 | $430 |
| Price at the end of 2017 | $14,046 |
| Percentage change | +3,167% |
What was the price of Bitcoin in 2018-2023?
Following the impressive bull run of 2016 and 2017, Bitcoin’s price retraced below the $10,000 mark in 2018 and dipped all the way to $4,000 by the end of the year. With the COVID-19 outbreak starting in late 2019, the political and economic uncertainty negatively impacted the price of Bitcoin. However, Bitcoin started gaining momentum in mid-2020, with the increase being attributed mostly to the massive amount of fiat being injected into the global financial system to combat the effect of the lockdowns.
In February 2021, Bitcoin surpassed $50,000 for the first time ever and broke $60,000 just a month later. The price quickly dipped in July, only to explode to its then ATH in November 2021. After that, Bitcoin went on a downward spiral, which brought the price as low as $16,700. In the second half of 2023, Bitcoin found its footing once again and started retracing to previous highs. It finished the year with a closing price of $42,224.
Key highlights:
- Bitcoin’s price reached its then ATH of $68,770 in November 2021
- The Bitcoin market experienced a double top above $60,000 in 2021
- The next BTC halving is slated for 2024, and many investors predict that we are going to see history repeat itself and price rallying post-halving
| Highest price | $68,770 |
|---|---|
| Lowest price | $3,236 |
| Price at the start of 2018 | $14,046 |
| Price at the end of 2023* | $42,224 |
| Percentage change | +201% |
Examining Bitcoin’s 2024 bull run
The start of 2024 was relatively uneventful for Bitcoin, as its price hovered around $43,000, which is around where BTC’s price was at the end of 2023. However, in February, Bitcoin’s price started climbing dramatically, resulting in another ATH of $73,608 in March. This price increase was attributed to the launch of Bitcoin spot EFTs in January, which exposed traditional investors to Bitcoin’s price movements and allowed them to indirectly invest in Bitcoin through their brokerage accounts.
Bitcoin’s price then remained relatively stable, hovering around $60,000 for over half a year, until the recent US presidential election pumped Bitcoin’s price in November, reaching a new ATH of $94,837. It’s too early to tell when exactly this rally will end, but for now, Bitcoin is holding strong, reaching new heights on almost a daily basis.
| Highest price | $94,837 |
|---|---|
| Lowest price | $38,703 |
| Price at the start of 2024 | $42,224 |
| Price at the end of 2024* | $94,000 |
| Percentage change | 242% |
*Price on November 20th, 2024
The bottom line: Bitcoin started trading at $0.00099 in 2009 and reached its ATH of over $73,000 15 years later
Bitcoin has had a very eventful past, both in terms of development and adoption. This has translated into very active price movements – the first recorded BTC trade was executed at $0.00099 per coin, whereas now, 15 years later, the currency is trading above $60,000. While BTC already peaked at a new high of more than $73,600 in March 2024, many analysts believe that the next bull run could take Bitcoin above $100,000.
If you want to learn more about how Bitcoin could behave in the future, check our Bitcoin price prediction charts. For a more detailed analysis of Bitcoin’s long-term potential, check our analysis of how high Bitcoin could go in 2040 and 2050.
