Celebrating Bitcoin’s Birthday as BTC Turns 13 on Genesis Day
Hong Kong’s Bitcoin Association was one of the first to celebrate Genesis Day as Asian markets awoke to begin the first trading week of 2022.
The Association also added that it would be a good time to make sure that your Bitcoin is in a wallet that you control, referring to both public and private keys. The date is also known as the “Proof of Keys celebration,” an event suggested by Bitcoiner pioneer Trace Mayer.
The Proof of Keys website celebrates this annual event encouraging Bitcoin hodlers to take control of their assets.
Happy Genesis Block day! Today, Bitcoin is 13 years old. It’s also a great day to withdraw your coins to a wallet you own and control! #ProofofKeys
— Bitcoin Association 香港比特幣協會 (@bitcoinorghk) January 3, 2022
A Brief Bitcoin History
On January 3, 2009, the enigmatic and still anonymous Satoshi Nakamoto released the Genesis Block containing the first 50 bitcoins onto Sourceforge. He also left a message on the blockchain at the time quoting a headline from the U.K.’s Times newspaper:
“The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks.”
Nakamoto began working on the whitepaper in 2008, publishing it in October of the same year.
The concept behind the anonymous, trustless, decentralized currency came about in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, which they blamed the banks for.
Satoshi was not a fan of the modern banking system, and they had particular umbrage with fractional-reserve banking. This is when a bank accepts deposits and makes loans or investments but is required to hold reserves equal to only a fraction of its deposit liabilities. The bank is essentially using money that it doesn’t hold.
He wanted to cut out the banks and shady middlemen which he viewed as corrupt and unreliable, electing to create a more community-driven digital currency.
Thirteen years later, Bitcoin is still going strong with an almost $900 billion market capitalization. It is now held by billionaires, banks, celebrities, governments, and corporations, which is a testament to how far BTC has come in its short lifespan.
The banking bunkum and economic turmoil are also at a crisis point yet again.
BTC Price Outlook
On Genesis Day last year, BTC was changing hands for a little over $32,000. Since then, it has gained around 47% to current prices at about $47,000.
The asset is still consolidating in this range where it has been since a fall below $50K on December 28. Support seems to be solid here at the moment, but BTC has been trending downwards since mid-November.
