Cryptocurrencies: A (Crazy) Decade in Review

[its-a-me-mario]

Cryptocurrencies: A (Crazy) Decade in Review

The Bitcoin whitepaper was published by Satoshi Nakamoto on October 31, 2008. The following decade brought the growth of an entirely new industry and it’s been a wild ride filled with wealth, sorrow, and drama. Flash crashes, hacks involving hundreds of millions of dollars, illegal online marketplaces for drugs and weapons, all of it has led the massive growing industry we now know. As we near the end of the decade in 2020, let’s take a look back at where crypto started and its journey to where it is today.

I've written a lengthy piece covering the highlights of the last decade for our industry. Please click here to read the full story! https://www.coygo.app/blog/posts/cryptocurrencies-a-crazy-decade-in-review/

[aamirsuh]

Bitcoin is a project that will mark the 21st century. Does Satoshi know you're doing such a big thing? In 10 years bitcoin has taken a huge lead. In 2017 came the peak price. Can he rise to such a price again? I think there are still many stories for bitcoin.

[its-a-me-mario]

Agreed we still have a lot of growth to go! I tried to keep the article about cryptocurrencies in general and not only be Bitcoin-specific, but Bitcoin so important and influential so inevitably a lot of the article was events related to Bitcoin itself. It's a beast in a league if its own.

[heidikim]

Crazy 10 years beautiful title. But we can say stormy two years. Bitcoin has upset some of its investors over the last 2 years. Because the prices fell a lot. If a rise is to come again, it is necessary to have a new advertisement. They offended the old investors.

[Hypnosis00]

And yet, we have to foresee another decade of a crazy market as well.
Yes, we are still struggling for now and some say "a stormy life of crypto" but what it actually emphasizes is that crypto market needs strong support as this is a helping tool that could bring it out from that stormy condition otherwise, we can't see another crazy market again.

[Yaunfitda]

As per article:

January, 2017 — Peoples Bank of China begins major crackdown on crypto exchanges

The PBOC took a strong stance on cryptocurrency exchanges in early 2017, beginning with a meeting with representatives of the major Bitcoin exchanges in China (BTCC, OKCoin and Huobi) to urge them to focus on compliance with regulations related to exchanges. This lead to a decrease in trading volume in China, and eventually the major Chinese exchanges halted withdawals and shut down fiat trading. A lot of trading volume was coming from Asia, so this painted a grim picture for the future growth and adoption of cryptocurrencies.

As far as I can remember, there are no Chinese related at that time. PBOC grew concerns about the so-called bitcoin exchanges, offering "no trading fee", and they realized that something is not right from behind and there could be manipulation or even fake volumes.

And that's how this whole crackdown started. The PBOC even called them just a "website" and not exchange, and so the rest is history.

Anyways, good list and I'm sure we look forward for more insights in the next ten years.

[maxreish]

It's been awhile since I knew bitcoin. And with my two years of journey here,  roller coaster events had happened to bitcoin. We've seen the success, the development and growth. Far from negative speculators saying that bitcoin will not gonna live longer, but look at it now. It's immensely  growing. 10 years of being a King even if there are stormy years and downfalls. The history just reminds us that bitcoin will gonna shine after the storm.

Anyway, it's fun reading your article. Reminds me of the serious crash last year and I was stuck at that time.

[EdvinZ]

Still, I will allow myself to criticize Bitcoin a little. It does not fit the ideas that Satoshi Nakamoto stated. From a decentralized payment system, Bitcoin has turned into a speculative manipulated tool. Payments in Bitcoins in the form in which it is now, it is a utopia. While 10 years is not such a long time for the cryptocurrency industry, I think the next 100 years will definitely bear some good fruit and the digital currency will be ubiquitous.

[its-a-me-mario]

Still, I will allow myself to criticize Bitcoin a little. It does not fit the ideas that Satoshi Nakamoto stated. From a decentralized payment system, Bitcoin has turned into a speculative manipulated tool. Payments in Bitcoins in the form in which it is now, it is a utopia. While 10 years is not such a long time for the cryptocurrency industry, I think the next 100 years will definitely bear some good fruit and the digital currency will be ubiquitous.

Yes I look forward to the day when we move beyond 99% speculation and towards actual utilization-derived value. The tech and the industry has evolved an unbelievable amount since 2009, but really we still have so much farther to go. I suspect it might be another 5 years at least before the tech and the regulations/taxes allow us to pay for goods with crypto. I'm very interested in decentralized stablecoins like DAI for this reason, it removes the incentive to hold till death and encourages people to spend their crypto.

[hatshepsut93]

Still, I will allow myself to criticize Bitcoin a little. It does not fit the ideas that Satoshi Nakamoto stated. From a decentralized payment system, Bitcoin has turned into a speculative manipulated tool. Payments in Bitcoins in the form in which it is now, it is a utopia. While 10 years is not such a long time for the cryptocurrency industry, I think the next 100 years will definitely bear some good fruit and the digital currency will be ubiquitous.

The fact that Bitcoin is speculative doesn't really hinder it's usability as decentralized payment system - in fact Bitcoin is speculative because it's decentralized - if it was something like a stablecoin managed by a company, it would be very centralized and tightly regulated, so there won't be any free market.

[Jating]

Still, I will allow myself to criticize Bitcoin a little. It does not fit the ideas that Satoshi Nakamoto stated. From a decentralized payment system, Bitcoin has turned into a speculative manipulated tool. Payments in Bitcoins in the form in which it is now, it is a utopia. While 10 years is not such a long time for the cryptocurrency industry, I think the next 100 years will definitely bear some good fruit and the digital currency will be ubiquitous.

Fair enough, however, as you have said the market is still young, ten years is not a lot as compare to other markets.

You also have to remember that it turned into speculative asset because it's a free market. I mean no one have control over it, that's why there are a lot of entities in the last ten years than can quickly manipulate the price to their advantage. So I say that this will continue and we can't get rid of them.

[its-a-me-mario]

in fact Bitcoin is speculative because it's decentralized - if it was something like a stablecoin managed by a company, it would be very centralized and tightly regulated, so there won't be any free market.

All cryptocurrencies/tokens are speculative right now because they're not being used (comparatively to other solutions that aim to solve the same problem, albeit not in a decentralized way). I don't think decentralization inherently has anything to do with how the entire market is speculative. Investors/traders are speculating that Bitcoin and other DLTs will have a real-world use case that will drive their value in the future.

[hatshepsut93]

in fact Bitcoin is speculative because it's decentralized - if it was something like a stablecoin managed by a company, it would be very centralized and tightly regulated, so there won't be any free market.

All cryptocurrencies/tokens are speculative right now because they're not being used (comparatively to other solutions that aim to solve the same problem, albeit not in a decentralized way). I don't think decentralization inherently has anything to do with how the entire market is speculative. Investors/traders are speculating that Bitcoin and other DLTs will have a real-world use case that will drive their value in the future.

Because Bitcoin is decentralized, it's harder to regulate, and since it's not well-regulated, it's more volatile/speculative. This is why the SEC rejects Bitcoin ETF's - they believe that the market is not well regulated to prevent manipulation. But if Bitcoin was just a company - imagine if Satoshi patented it and had a company that manages it and maintains the price, has KYC, etc., then it wouldn't be so speculative, people would threat it more like a stock and try to calculate it's profitability rather than speculate on it.

[xiboothrezi]

one of the most phenomenal discoveries of this decade.  although initially doubtful can be accepted and valuable, bitcoin can eliminate all the low accusations.  gives many surprises when many people who predict BTC will die.
It can even make a lot of people surprised by the record high prices in 2017. Amazing.  That is why BTC began to be adopted even though its utility could not be fully implemented. It can even make a lot of people surprised by the record high prices in 2017. Amazing.  That is why BTC began to be adopted even though its utility could not be fully implemented.

[its-a-me-mario]

one of the most phenomenal discoveries of this decade

couldn't agree more

[pakhitheboss]

A decade full of surprises and uncertainty. No one knew in 2017 Bitcoin will reach a price of 17k. No body know till date when there will the next Bull run to the moon. There are more adopters than haters of Bitcoin now. Big companies now are investing heavily into Blockchain technology because not Bitcoin. Governments are planning to regulate the crpto market. So many thing have changed and happened in a decade.

[BrewMaster]

in fact Bitcoin is speculative because it's decentralized - if it was something like a stablecoin managed by a company, it would be very centralized and tightly regulated, so there won't be any free market.

All cryptocurrencies/tokens are speculative right now because they're not being used (comparatively to other solutions that aim to solve the same problem, albeit not in a decentralized way). I don't think decentralization inherently has anything to do with how the entire market is speculative. Investors/traders are speculating that Bitcoin and other DLTs will have a real-world use case that will drive their value in the future.

there is a big difference between calling bitcoin speculative and altcoin/tokens speculative.

when you look at bitcoin you can see that it has been used as a currency for a very long time and in thousands of different places both online and offline. the payment processors are processing billions of dollars worth of bitcoin transactions, and that's just processors we have no data from those merchants that accept bitcoin directly!
so when you say bitcoin is speculative, that speculation is about  future increasing success and adoption of bitcoin.

but when it comes to altcoins and tokens that have no usages and have never been used for anything anywhere other than exchanges, being speculative in that context means being something people gamble on.

[airdnasxela]

This is a great summary for the history and important things happened with cryptocurrency through the years. And it's an honor and great opportunity for me to be part of this community. A decade had passed for Bitcoin, and even I was not a part of it since from the start, from the time I have joined crypto, I can say and really helped me a lot and made me realize a lot of things. Lessons, experience, and money is what I have earned here and it was also a fun and tough journey for everyone of us.

[alyssa85]

Still, I will allow myself to criticize Bitcoin a little. It does not fit the ideas that Satoshi Nakamoto stated. From a decentralized payment system, Bitcoin has turned into a speculative manipulated tool. Payments in Bitcoins in the form in which it is now, it is a utopia. While 10 years is not such a long time for the cryptocurrency industry, I think the next 100 years will definitely bear some good fruit and the digital currency will be ubiquitous.

Yes but the IDEA that you could have a decentralised payment system lives on, and many experiments are underway via altcoins. My guess is that an unassuming uncomplicated alt like Doge will eventually win as a payment system and bitcoin will remain a store of wealth like gold.

[bounceback]

Cryptocurrencies: A (Crazy) Decade in Review

The Bitcoin whitepaper was published by Satoshi Nakamoto on October 31, 2008. The following decade brought the growth of an entirely new industry and it’s been a wild ride filled with wealth, sorrow, and drama. Flash crashes, hacks involving hundreds of millions of dollars, illegal online marketplaces for drugs and weapons, all of it has led the massive growing industry we now know. As we near the end of the decade in 2020, let’s take a look back at where crypto started and its journey to where it is today.

This of course we can say is the beginning of the world of crypto and I think in the coming decades we will really see real crypto when mass adoption takes place around the world which will be the main payment for everyone, and it is very possible when that happens then the price bitcoin will go back up very high.