Now Bitcoin has turned 16, we've seen it grow from a radical idea into a financial powerhouse
SIXTEEN years ago this week, a handful of people were eagerly digesting a ground-breaking whitepaper titled 'Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System' which had appeared online on October 31 2008.
Its author, the pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamoto, laid out a vision for a decentralised currency that would bypass traditional financial institutions.
Fast forward to today, and Bitcoin has risen from an experimental digital currency to a global asset valued at around $69,000 per coin - a testament to its revolutionary impact and resilience.
Initially, Bitcoin was worth virtually nothing. In 2010, Laszlo Hanyecz famously paid 10,000 BTC for two pizzas - a transaction valued at $69,000,000 today.
Yet, in those days, it was more a curiosity than an asset, with a niche following among tech enthusiasts and libertarians who valued its decentralised nature and scarcity.
Bitcoin’s value began to grow in 2013, crossing $1,000 and sparking the first wave of interest, but it wasn’t until the late 2010s that the crypto began to attract serious attention as a financial asset.
Bitcoin’s journey has been anything but smooth. It has weathered extreme volatility, regulatory threats, and countless declarations of its imminent demise.
In 2017, the digital asset surged to nearly $20,000, only to crash back down below $4,000 in 2018. Critics dismissed it as a bubble, while supporters saw these swings as growing pains for a transformative new asset. Since then, Bitcoin has achieved greater stability, maturing into an asset that major financial institutions and corporations are beginning to take seriously.
Today, Bitcoin boasts a market capitalisation of more than $1.3 trillion, putting it in the league of the world’s largest currencies and commodities. It has achieved this status faster than tech giants like Amazon or Google and has become a popular choice for investors seeking diversification.
Once seen as a fringe investment, Bitcoin is now recognised as ‘digital gold', drawing in both retail investors and financial heavyweights looking for long-term value.
Bitcoin vs traditional currencies
Bitcoin's value proposition stands in stark contrast to traditional fiat currencies. Fiat currencies like the US dollar are inflationary and can be printed in unlimited quantities by central banks. Since the 1970s, the dollar has lost over 80% of its purchasing power due to inflation.
Bitcoin, on the other hand, has a fixed supply of 21 million coins, which makes it inherently deflationary. This scarcity is a primary driver of its increasing value over time and an attractive feature for those looking to preserve wealth.
In countries with unstable currencies, it has become a lifeline.
Nations like Argentina, Turkey, and Venezuela, where hyperinflation has eroded the local currency’s value, have seen a surge in Bitcoin adoption as people seek alternatives to maintain their purchasing power. Bitcoin’s decentralised and borderless nature allows it to serve as a stable store of value for people whose governments may restrict access to foreign currencies or impose heavy capital controls.
Digital gold or new asset class?
Bitcoin is frequently compared to gold, and not without reason. Like gold, Bitcoin is finite, difficult to produce, and holds value across borders and cultures. Gold has been a store of value for centuries, but Bitcoin is challenging its status in several ways.
For one, crypto is far more portable and divisible than gold - investors can send a fraction of a Bitcoin across the globe in seconds, without the need for secure transport or physical storage.
Over the past decade, Bitcoin has also far outperformed gold in terms of returns. While gold has risen around 25% over the last five years, Bitcoin has increased by thousands of percent over the same period.
Bitcoin’s incredible growth has led some investors to view it as a better hedge against inflation than gold. For younger, tech-savvy investors, Bitcoin represents a more accessible and dynamic asset, aligned with their digital lifestyles.
Institutional endorsement
One of Bitcoin’s biggest milestones has been the adoption by institutional investors and major companies.
Corporations like Tesla, MicroStrategy, and Square have invested billions in Bitcoin, seeing it as a store of value and an alternative to cash reserves in a low-interest-rate world.
Financial institutions like JPMorgan, Fidelity, and Goldman Sachs have launched Bitcoin-related services, from custody solutions to Bitcoin futures and ETFs.
This institutional buy-in has helped the digital asset shed its reputation as a speculative fringe asset, elevating it to a serious investment choice for diversified portfolios.
Additionally, governments worldwide are beginning to clarify their regulatory positions on Bitcoin, a move that has provided further legitimacy. While regulatory clarity varies by region, the trend is toward acceptance, especially as nations like the US, Japan, and Switzerland develop frameworks that allow financial products based on Bitcoin.
El Salvador even made it legal tender in 2021, a pioneering step that hinted at the currency’s potential role in global finance.
The technological backbone
Bitcoin’s underlying technology - blockchain - has undergone significant innovation, which has bolstered its usability. The Lightning Network, a layer-two solution, now allows faster and cheaper transactions, making Bitcoin a viable option for everyday purchases and remittances. This improvement addresses early criticisms about Bitcoin’s slow transaction speed and high fees, pushing it closer to Nakamoto’s vision of a global currency.
The blockchain's decentralised, tamper-resistant design also appeals to those concerned about privacy and censorship. Bitcoin transactions are transparent but pseudonymous, enabling financial freedom that’s especially valuable in authoritarian regions or in times of political unrest.
The tech underpinning Bitcoin represents a vision of finance that’s secure, open, and resilient to central control - a stark contrast to the surveillance-heavy, centralised financial systems that dominate today.
Bitcoin’s future
As Bitcoin has now celebrated its 16th anniversary, it’s clear that it has become more than just “peer-to-peer cash”.
It’s now a recognised asset class, a store of value, and a hedge against inflation. With a price around $69,000, Bitcoin has carved out a place in portfolios and economies worldwide, signifying a shift in how we think about money, sovereignty, and wealth preservation.
The world’s most successful currency experiment is no longer just an experiment. Bitcoin has inspired a financial movement that challenges traditional systems and gives individuals more control over their assets.
While there are still hurdles - regulatory, environmental, and technical - the evolution over the past 16 years suggests a resilience and potential that few assets have demonstrated.
Nigel Green, deVere Group CEO and founder
