Cryptocurrency Calendar – Important Dates in the History of Cryptocurrencies

The history of cryptocurrencies spans over 15 years, during which several significant events have occurred. This blog post covers important cryptocurrency events month by month.

              
January
 
3.1. Bitcoin genesis block (2009)
Bitcoin began operations when Bitcoin's founder, Satoshi Nakamoto, mined the first Bitcoin block (genesis block). This day is considered the birthday of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies.
10.1. Bitcoin spot ETFs approved in the US (2024)
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved 11 Bitcoin spot ETF applications. Among the approved applications were ETFs from BlackRock and Fidelity, two of the world's largest asset managers.
11.1. First tweet about Bitcoin (2009) 
Hal Finney, a developer involved in Bitcoin from its early stages, made the first social media post about Bitcoin on Twitter: "Running bitcoin."
12.1. First Bitcoin transaction (2009) 
Bitcoin's founder Satoshi Nakamoto made the first Bitcoin transaction, sending 10 bitcoins to Bitcoin developer Hal Finney.
14.1. Lightning Network whitepaper published (2016) 
The whitepaper describing the Lightning Network, a scalability solution for Bitcoin, was published. The whitepaper, released by Joseph Poon and Thaddeus Dryja, introduced a layer 2 scalability solution for Bitcoin that enables significantly faster and cheaper transactions.
20.1. Ordinals protocol released (2023) 
Developer Casey Rodarmor released the Ordinals protocol, enabling NFTs on Bitcoin's blockchain.
February
 
8.2. Tesla announced bitcoin purchase (2021) 
Tesla, a manufacturer of electric vehicles and sustainable energy solutions, announced the purchase of about 43,000 bitcoins for approximately $1.5 billion. On the day of the announcement, Bitcoin's price rose about 20% to a then-record price of over $46,000.
9.2. 1 bitcoin = 1 dollar (2011)
Bitcoin's price reached 1 dollar for the first time.
12.2. Ethereum became the second-largest cryptocurrency (2016)
Ethereum became the second-largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, surpassing XRP. Ethereum's price rose to over 4 dollars at that time.
19.2. Bitcoin's market cap = 1 trillion dollars (2021) 
Bitcoin's market capitalization reached 1 trillion dollars for the first time, as Bitcoin's price rose to around 48,000 dollars.
24.2. Bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox collapsed (2014) 
Mt. Gox, the largest exchange during Bitcoin's early years, suspended trading, and the exchange's website went offline.
March
3.3. Bitcoin's price = gold price (2017) 
Bitcoin's price reached the same value as an ounce of gold for the first time, as Bitcoin's price rose to around 1,250 dollars.
15.3. Lightning Network launched (2017)
Lightning Labs launched the Lightning Network, a layer 2 scalability solution for Bitcoin.
17.3. First cryptocurrency exchange started operations (2010)
The first cryptocurrency exchange, Bitcoinmarket, began operations.
28.3. Bitcoin's market cap = 1 billion dollars (2013)
Bitcoin's market capitalization reached 1 billion dollars for the first time.
31.3. Bitcoin price = 100 dollars (2013) 
Bitcoin's price reached 100 dollars for the first time.
April
 
5.4. Satoshi Nakamoto's birthday (1975)
Bitcoin's founder, Satoshi Nakamoto, listed April 5, 1975, as their birthday on their P2P Foundation profile.
18.4. Namecoin started operations (2011)
Namecoin, the first cryptocurrency after Bitcoin, began operations. Namecoin was a Bitcoin fork, meaning a modified version of Bitcoin.
20.4. Bitcoin's fourth halving (2024)
Bitcoin's block reward was halved for the fourth time, reducing the block reward from 6.25 bitcoins to 3.125 bitcoins.
23.4. Satoshi Nakamoto's last message (2011)
Bitcoin's founder, Satoshi Nakamoto, sent their last email to Bitcoin developers. In the message, Nakamoto stated that they had moved on to other things.
May
3.5. First NFT was released (2014)
Artist Kevin McCoy released the first NFT, called Quantum, on the Namecoin blockchain.
9.5. The beginning of the Terra ecosystem collapse (2022)
The collapse of the Terra ecosystem began when Terra's algorithmic UST stablecoin started losing its 1 dollar price.
11.5. Bitcoin's third halving (2020)
Bitcoin's block reward was halved for the third time, reducing the block reward from 12.5 bitcoins to 6.25 bitcoins.
20.5. China's cryptocurrency ban (2021)
China announced a ban on cryptocurrency transactions and mining.
22.5. Bitcoin Pizza Day (2010)
The first real-world purchase using Bitcoin occurred when Laszlo Hanyecz bought two pizzas for 10,000 bitcoins. Fourteen years later, on May 22, 2024, the value of 10,000 bitcoins was over 600 million euros.
23.5. Ethereum spot ETFs approved in the US (2024)
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved eight Ethereum spot ETF applications. Among the approved applications were ETFs from BlackRock and Fidelity, two of the world's largest asset managers.
June
 
23.6. CryptoPunks NFT collection was released (2017)
Larva Labs released the CryptoPunks NFT collection, which was the largest by market capitalization for a long time. 
July
 
9.7. Bitcoin's second halving (2016) 
Bitcoin's block reward was halved for the second time, reducing the block reward from 25 bitcoins to 12.5 bitcoins.
20.7. Ethereum split into two blockchains (2016)
Ethereum controversially split into two blockchains following The DAO hack. The hack was "reversed" by rolling back the blockchain's history, resulting in the creation of Ethereum. The original and immutable branch of the blockchain is Ethereum Classic.
30.7. Ethereum started operations (2015)
Ethereum began operations with the mining of its first block.
August
10.8. MicroStrategy bought bitcoin for the first time (2020) 
U.S.-based company MicroStrategy purchased 21,454 bitcoins for about 250 million dollars. MicroStrategy, the first publicly traded company to start buying bitcoins, has grown its bitcoin holdings to over 225,000 bitcoins in four years.
24.8. Bitcoin's Segregated Witness (SegWit) update (2017) 
Bitcoin's Segregated Witness (SegWit) soft fork update was activated. SegWit aimed to protect against transaction malleability and speed up transaction times by increasing block size.
September
7.9. Bitcoin became legal tender in El Salvador (2021)
Bitcoin became legal tender in El Salvador, a country in Central America. El Salvador thus became the first country to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender.
15.9. Ethereum Merge (2022)
Ethereum's "The Merge" update was implemented, transitioning Ethereum from a Proof of Work consensus algorithm to a Proof of Stake consensus algorithm.
October
 
12.10. First Bitcoin-dollar trade (2009) 
Finnish Bitcoin developer Martti Malmi made the first Bitcoin-dollar trade, selling 5,050 bitcoins for $5.02 (1 bitcoin ≈ $0.001).
13.10. Litecoin started operations (2011)
Litecoin, a cryptocurrency offering faster and cheaper transactions than Bitcoin, began operations. Litecoin is the first cryptocurrency launched after Bitcoin that has managed to remain among the largest cryptocurrencies by market capitalization for over 10 years after its launch.
29.10. First Bitcoin ATM started operations (2013)
The first ATM allowing the purchase of Bitcoin with cash began operations in Vancouver, Canada.
31.10. Bitcoin whitepaper was released (2008)
Satoshi Nakamoto sent the Bitcoin whitepaper, describing Bitcoin's technical principles, to a cryptography mailing list.
November
1.11. Bitcoin logo published (2010)
An artist using the nickname Bitboy published the Bitcoin logo on the Bitcointalk forum.
14.11. Bitcoin Taproot update (2021)
The Bitcoin Taproot soft fork, i.e., an update, was activated. The Taproot update introduced the Schnorr signature method to Bitcoin and improved Bitcoin's privacy, efficiency, and readiness for smart contracts.
6.11. FTX suspended cryptocurrency withdrawals (2022)
The cryptocurrency exchange FTX stopped offering cryptocurrency withdrawals. The reason for the suspension was the large number of withdrawals, which were in turn a result of information pointing to FTX's liquidity problems.
19.11. Bitcoin price = 1,000 dollars (2013)
Bitcoin's price reached 1,000 dollars for the first time.
27.11. Ethereum whitepaper published (2013)
Ethereum's founder Vitalik Buterin published the whitepaper describing Ethereum's principles of operation.
28.11. Bitcoin's first halving (2012)
Bitcoin's block reward was halved for the first time. The block reward was reduced from 50 bitcoins to 25 bitcoins.
December
6.12. Dogecoin released (2013)
Jackson Palmer and Billy Markus released the first meme coin, Dogecoin.
18.12. HODL day (2013)
A user named GameKyuubi published a post titled "I AM HODLING" on the Bitcointalk forum. The misspelling of the word "hold" has become a concept representing holding cryptocurrency regardless of price movements.

Ville Viitaharju
Cryptocurrency specialist