Bitcoin Is 17 years Old. What surprises you most?

[Zorellian]

Bitcoin is considered a valuable asset along with gold. Talking about the current generation, they are giving more priority to Bitcoin than gold. What surprised me the most about Bitcoin is its long-term compound growth. Although it has major ups and downs, even after major price drops, it bounces back and gains new value and making Bitcoin valuable. Gold is an established asset, but Bitcoin is very new in comparison, but it has surpassed gold in terms of annual growth. Bitcoin's compound annual growth rate is much higher than gold.


https://curvo.eu/backtest/en/compare-indexes/bitcoin-vs-gold-bullion?currency=eur

The growth is what surprised me to and the power that he has to go up and down, when he actually does that and the ability of surpassing the last value of his and make him more valuable than any other coins that we are familiar with. To surpass gold in time of rating him is a good record for him to have a good reputation and make people to trust on him by clearing all peoples doubts and give new records.

[BItcoin Guy@]

What surprised me most about bitcoin is that I didn’t expect it to be this popular even now, and to have so much value. Before I had some knowledge about bitcoin, I thought it was just a normal coin that could come and lose value anytime. But later I started to see it growing every day, and more people are increasing in investing and trading with it. bitcoin is the best stored coin and has the highest market cap in the world. The rest of the coins will always be under bitcoin. And if you have not started investing, you should do so and enjoy the benefits with other investors in the world.

[dzungmobile]

And what do you think someone from 2010 would find hardest to believe about Bitcoin today?

Maybe the price, institutional adoption, countries holding it, the size of the mining industry, or simply how long Bitcoin has survived.

What would you have found hardest to believe back then?

Bitcoin can fail, Bitcoin can die, it's most common things to think about Bitcoin in 2009, months after Bitcoin genesis block.

"Bitcoin is dead" history shows this fact too. Many sayings like this in the past years and the numbers of such dead callings dropped with time.

https://bitcoindeaths.com/
https://newhedge.io/bitcoin/bitcoin-is-dead
https://bitbo.io/dead/
https://99bitcoins.com/obituary-stats/

Bitcoin is not dead but it was called as dead 450+ times.
In 2026, who will call Bitcoin is dead?  

[Creeper0]

What would you have found hardest to believe back then?

I am surprised that governments are legitimizing Bitcoin despite Bitcoin being completely opposed to government banking. I am not one of those people who knew or had any idea about Bitcoin in 2010-2014. The value of Bitcoin and its global adoption have surprised me quite a bit, even the central government is legitimizing Bitcoin.
I am most surprised by Satoshi's creativity, who has threatened the traditional economy and is listed among the top richest people in the world but does not touch his funds.

[Zaka1221]

Bitcoin is doing very well; that's the gospel truth. Who could have imagined that some of the Bitcoin haters and government officials who stood against Bitcoin are actually buying it as their economic reserve. A few years ago, it wasn't so. That's to tell you and me that Bitcoin has come to stay, and it is going anywhere. We are going to have mind-blowing milestones(prices) that Bitcoin has achieved in no short time.

I am glad that I found and accepted Bitcoin as an investment; I didn't join those who see it as a Ponzi scheme that will soon end.

Currently millions are glad they found Bitcoin and invested in this, even if many are also still having none of what they were expecting, but things have never been regrettable for people who are in this community and having their journey. I have never been in favor of having any comparison, but still I always love to stay with both because both work well and never give anything wrong in my investment.

Bitcoin open doors for financial independence and also give many features which peoples were never been having into their mind because its have amazing use case and also feature of trading and investment recently few changes bring changes in bitcoin but still everyone expecting its going to be have great potential to stay on course of having good return of investment and also touching six figures landmark which could be bring good confidence and stability.

[Abu-Naim]

Bitcoin has been around for 17 years now.

Looking back, what part of Bitcoin’s journey has surprised you the most?

And what do you think someone from 2010 would find hardest to believe about Bitcoin today?

Maybe the price, institutional adoption, countries holding it, the size of the mining industry, or simply how long Bitcoin has survived.

What would you have found hardest to believe back then?

All I can say is the improvement it has since it was created back in 2009, there were so many record of criticism about Bitcoin, many people failed to acknowledge Bitcoin on time and some of them were regretting it letter because they have seen how progressive it has been.

There might be other investment I don’t know if that have such massive progress, but I don’t think there is any investment that has progressed within the range of 17 years than buying Bitcoin when it was created; the price has surge above expectations and it has gotten a lot of attention and has been competing with every investment globally because it comes with financial freedom and self custody, that is why Bitcoin investors don’t worry about inflation and any policy from government, they know what they hold and have no problem with centralized authorities.

[Die_empty]

I am surprised that governments are legitimizing Bitcoin despite Bitcoin being completely opposed to government banking. I am not one of those people who knew or had any idea about Bitcoin in 2010-2014. The value of Bitcoin and its global adoption have surprised me quite a bit, even the central government is legitimizing Bitcoin.
I am most surprised by Satoshi's creativity, who has threatened the traditional economy and is listed among the top richest people in the world but does not touch his funds.

When the US government, through the Genius Act, made provisions for the establishment of a Bitcoin reserve, I was surprised. This was a currency that was associated with criminals, gamblers, and good-for-nothings. Now the most powerful nation in the world has made laws not to sell its Bitcoin and has also made laws to accumulate more.

El Salvador and the Central African Republic's decision to make Bitcoin legal tender also amazed me. I never thought that a time would come when countries would make Bitcoin legal tender.

[abel1337]

And what do you think someone from 2010 would find hardest to believe about Bitcoin today?

No one had guessed that bitcoin would reach hundred of thousand of dollars each. Bitcoin was pretty worthless before given that it is easy and fast to mine but comparing to todays situation, the scarcity of bitcoin is real and people are willing to buy at the current price. People would go crazy if they found out that bitcoin would be treated an asset that has a global demand.

What would you have found hardest to believe back then?

That bitcoin would reach this kind of price of course and bitcoin would be widely known and even countries are willing to take it as part of their treasury. I have a lot of what ifs before on bitcoin and most of it became reality and I'm happy for it.

[freedomgo]

The fact that it has survived for 17 years and counting despite of the consistent attacks from the bitcoin haters, this thing surprised me most. I really thought that bitcoin will not thrive and would easily vanish in the market like a dead coin, but then again we can't really judge a coin just because how the people react on it nor based on its negative future predictions.

Bitcoin's future may still be uncertain, but a lot have already benefited from bitcoin. The uncertainty of bitcoin makes the people to want bitcoin more which is very opposite to some other assets in the market.

[Donneski]

Bitcoin came and defiled whatever law that states that money must be controlled by a central authority.

I don't think any law states this though.

Law in this context doesn't literally mean that there's any stipulated law that says "that money must be controlled by a central authority." Rather, I'm saying that Before Bitcoin, almost all modern digital and national currencies were controlled by central authorities and governments. But Bitcoin introduced us to a digitally decentralized money. So you shouldn't mistake what I said for a law that was existing anywhere.

[PrivacyG]

I am glad all the Anti-Bitcoin hate did not have an effect on Bitcoin. But China certainly did, almost a decade back.

I assume you are talking about the ban?  China did have an effect on Bitcoin but it did not last long enough to consider it a success.  In fact.  None of the attempts were successful, considering Bitcoin continues to exist and in a better state than ever before.

Their effect on Bitcoin was normal, people were afraid Bitcoin would go under a series of bans and attacks leaving it dead in the end.  But on the other hand, a China ban made so many more people interested in what Bitcoin actually is, so while they did crack down on it, other countries were getting more interested in it.  Bitcoin some how survived all of it by coming back after every attack with more interest, more growth, a more fascinating price chart et cetera.

[MainIbem]

I'm happy with the success of Bitcoin although it evolved from the initial usuage which was supposed to be peer-to-peer electronic cash to a store of value but it doesn't suprise me much cause having limited supply means it was indirectly made for that purpose, what suprises me is how Satoshi maintained anonymity for 17 years without being discovered, every Bitcoiner loves him despite that they don't know who he's, the identity behind the name is indeed a genius and i wish it remains that way (Anonymous).

[Byebyebtc]

Bitcoin has gone a long way indeed

Credit to all the hardship, to all the inflation, to all the people that told other about it etc..

Bitcoin adoption has increased over the years and that wouldn't have happened if not for these listed and more..

[Powerjumboo]

Bitcoin has been around for 17 years now.

Looking back, what part of Bitcoin’s journey has surprised you the most?

And what do you think someone from 2010 would find hardest to believe about Bitcoin today?

Maybe the price, institutional adoption, countries holding it, the size of the mining industry, or simply how long Bitcoin has survived.

What would you have found hardest to believe back then?

Looking back at the past 17 years of Bitcoin, the things that surprise me the most are the popularity of Bitcoin, the demand for Bitcoin, the increase in the price of Bitcoin. We see how much Bitcoin has progressed and increased in value in the past 17 years, it has gained popularity and demand from people. If we can imagine from now on, we can see that Bitcoin will gain more popularity and demand from people in the coming days. If it gains popularity and more demand from people, then it is clear that Bitcoin will become more valuable.

[hd49728]

Looking back at the past 17 years of Bitcoin, the things that surprise me the most are the popularity of Bitcoin, the demand for Bitcoin, the increase in the price of Bitcoin. We see how much Bitcoin has progressed and increased in value in the past 17 years, it has gained popularity and demand from people. If we can imagine from now on, we can see that Bitcoin will gain more popularity and demand from people in the coming days. If it gains popularity and more demand from people, then it is clear that Bitcoin will become more valuable.

17 years are long waiting time if you are going through it day by day, year by year but if you look at it like an outsider or time already passed and you look back, you will feel it is very fast and short time.

17 years are challenging for any project to stay active, still are alive, and Bitcoin has achieved all these things while it has more impressively grown up a lot during those past years.

Looking back the past years, it's good to read this Bitcoin history book that collects a lot of information, and by reading the book, readers will see both challenges and milestones in Bitcoin history.
[HELP] 'The Bitcoin History Book 2008-2024' [RELEASE: September 2024]
The Bitcoin History Book 2008-2024 [Paperback/Hardcover/eBook].
A preview version https://drive.google.com/file/d/1M8z4M4oV4WC_aIGWkn-tO_T7Nkllj47C/view?usp=sharing

[WatChe]

Looking back at the past 17 years of Bitcoin, the things that surprise me the most are the popularity of Bitcoin, the demand for Bitcoin, the increase in the price of Bitcoin. We see how much Bitcoin has progressed and increased in value in the past 17 years, it has gained popularity and demand from people. If we can imagine from now on, we can see that Bitcoin will gain more popularity and demand from people in the coming days. If it gains popularity and more demand from people, then it is clear that Bitcoin will become more valuable.

The most surprising factor about Bitcoin is it's price increase, which we have seen in 17 years. We have stories of people who bought Bitcoin for 1 dollar and even less. Today Bitcoin stands at 80k after rising to its ATH of 126k and this increase in price shows that adoption rate of Bitcoin is on the rise. People are now investing in Bitcoin for long-term with intent of getting good return. The future of Bitcoin is bright and that's the reason why today not only individuals are investing in Bitcoin but also big institutes are jumping in to ger their share of profit.

[Iamgoat]

What would you have found hardest to believe back then?

I am surprised that governments are legitimizing Bitcoin despite Bitcoin being completely opposed to government banking. I am not one of those people who knew or had any idea about Bitcoin in 2010-2014. The value of Bitcoin and its global adoption have surprised me quite a bit, even the central government is legitimizing Bitcoin.
I am most surprised by Satoshi's creativity, who has threatened the traditional economy and is listed among the top richest people in the world but does not touch his funds.

What still surprises me today against every other thing is Satoshi’s lack of appearance to the public domain despite Bitcoin reaching this level of success and control at the point in term. Today there’s no way you hardly talk about the currencies which have shaped the world without listing bitcoin as part of it yet the man who brought about the entire idea into fruition is no where near to the limelight, some times I do ask out of curiosity, are you sure the legendary Satoshi is still alive because what kind of discipline does such a person possess to have decided to go silent for such extended period of time without coming out to either claim his money and enjoy his life publicly or try to venture into politics to gather influence which can still help in the global adoption of bitcoin but none of this seems to be interested to the founder and I begin to ask some times, is he even alive any longer or what exactly?

[Saltysugar99]

What surprised me most about bitcoin is that I didn’t expect it to be this popular even now, and to have so much value. Before I had some knowledge about bitcoin, I thought it was just a normal coin that could come and lose value anytime. But later I started to see it growing every day, and more people are increasing in investing and trading with it. bitcoin is the best stored coin and has the highest market cap in the world. The rest of the coins will always be under bitcoin. And if you have not started investing, you should do so and enjoy the benefits with other investors in the world.

Personally, I am very surprised by the incredible price increase of bitcoin in such a short time. But I am cautious about one thing, that is, Bitcoin has been very popular and has grown tremendously in the past, so it is not right to think that it will definitely grow in the future. For me, the most interesting characteristics of Bitcoin are its predictable scarcity, permissionless transactions, portability and strong security system. Another thing is that bitcoin has not become a product of any company or government after all these years. And there is no possibility of such in the future. And these characteristics are what separate bitcoin from other tokens and all these things surprise us all.

[atookz]

What really gets me is not the price — it's the fact that Bitcoin still exists today. Since inception, someone has always been saying 'this thing's gonna die' — whether it's an exchange hack, a government ban, hard fork drama, or a brutal bear market, one of these gets brought up every single year. But it just continues to grow and grow.

If you asked me what people from 2010 would find hardest to believe, I'd say it's the institutional stuff. If you told someone that then, "a country is going to keep BTC as reserves, there will be official ETFs on the US stock exchange, and public companies are going to have BTC as assets on their balance sheets, like gold," they would laugh at you. Back then, Bitcoin was basically just darknet forums and crypto nerds — now it's on the Fed's agenda.

Price-wise, that's secondary for me. The crazy numbers have become commonplace for those who've been around in the crypto world for a while, and the ups and downs come across as a regular subscription to a roller coaster. What's really extraordinary is its resilience; the network has never been down, never been hacked since day one, and yet has been the juiciest target in the world to attack!

[Sticky Bomb]

Looking back, what part of Bitcoin’s journey has surprised you the most?

Actually, it's how institutions who were very much criticizing bitcoin suddenly sheathed their swords and turned bitcoin investors on a massive scale. Again, governments of countries which had strong resistance now giving clear regulations for bitcoin to be legalized in countries to have their own share of the pie.

And what do you think someone from 2010 would find hardest to believe about Bitcoin today?

Maybe the price, institutional adoption, countries holding it, the size of the mining industry, or simply how long Bitcoin has survived.

What would you have found hardest to believe back then?

I would have found it hard to believe that Bitcoin would record such kind of success and adoption, having emerged at a time Ponzi schemes was the order of the day in most countries.