Bitcoin turns 18 today

[Bluedrem]

How have these 18 years of Bitcoin's existence been for you?

To be honest, I have not known Bitcoin for 18 years. I became aware of Bitcoin or about Bitcoin 6 years ago. The beginning was unreliable for me, like others, I also had the idea that something like this would never gain such popularity. But what I see in reality today is completely opposite to my initial idea. Forgetting the pain of not holding Bitcoin in the past, I myself have decided to deposit Bitcoin for the last one and a half years and have been investing using the DCA method. Thanks to the invisible spirit named Satoshi Nakamoto, because of whom we have found the path to financial liberation, because of which we have been able to achieve the opportunity to gain financial independence.
I think that not holding Bitcoin was my mistake since I was aware of Bitcoin. And now the decision to hold Bitcoin will remind me of the best decision in the future.

[Antidote47k]

We can say bitcoin is now an adult lol… Honestly it has been an interesting journey, I wasn’t here from the get go but I’ve read and researched about the process and it’s nothing short of wonderful. 18 years ago the white paper was published to the mailing list, almost immediately on the 2nd of November James A. Donald acknowledged the need for such a system but questioned whether it was scalable to the required size.
 
18 years later, the network has been able to develop several approaches to handle some of the scaling demands. In 2017 Segwit was introduced which changed the transaction data accounting and further increased block capacity which enabled improvements like the lightning.
The lightning network allowed multiple payments without the need to record every payment individually on chain. In 2021, Taproot was introduced which improved transaction flexibility, privacy and more efficient for complex spendings, I believe with time other scalability questions would be eventually solved.

Happy birthday Bitcoin!

[crwth]

It's really amazing to see that Bitcoin is already 18 years old. In my experience, I got into Bitcoin 9 years ago, and it's been really good ever since. I have learned a lot, and i have applied most of the things i learned, especially the security-wise paranoia to make sure that you are really secure, including passwords and multifactor authentication. I think it's something that I'm thankful for as well.

[Faisal2202]

I have ventured into other asset but non has been consistent as Bitcoin is to me, I remember getting a land in a place that was projected to blossom in few years, but after few years the growth did not match the hype, not saying landed property aren't good or other asset aren't good but to my experience Bitcoin has grown above my imaginations since when I joined in.

Sorry to hear about your loss, but a loss does not mean the business itself was a scam. It just means you were unlucky, considering you did everything right. In this situation, I would only say that when you do your part honestly and things still go bad, that's exactly when we should not regret it. Instead, we should keep it up. But if we fail to do our part honestly, then it's our mistake, and in this situation, we already know the reason.

If Bitcoin failed to deliver like your land, what would you do? Would you give it more time, or would you leave it? I don't even know what you did with that land afterwards. Probably that was just an example, but I got curious, so that's why I asked. I hope you won't mind me asking.

[Call_Me_Guru]

It was exactly 18 years ago that the White Paper was published:
https://www.metzdowd.com/pipermail/cryptography/2008-October/014810.html

18 years that feels like yesterday. That short time has been impactful and fulfilling in the project "Bitcoin" and in the lives of many people.

I think nobody who received that email 18 years ago would have expected Bitcoin to be what it is today.

No, they will not, even Satoshi would have doubts at the time. Nothing can be shaking than that. But it is as fate would have it. Thank you Satoshi Nakamoto for creating Bitcoin.

How have these 18 years of Bitcoin's existence been for you?

Positive. Bitcoin has blessed me, blessed my family.

[hd49728]

Happy Birthday Bitcoin, It had been a great run for it to become an adult while I was with it from its early days, I failed to capitalize on it, yet its never too late to buy and hold some as bitcoin has never failed to deliver.

Year	BTC price (USD)
2011	$3.30
2012	$11.20
2013	$204.00
2014	$338.32
2015	$314.17
2016	$700.97
2017	$6,468.40
2018	$6,317.61
2019	$9,199.58
2020	$13,780.99
2021	$61,318.96
2022	$20,495.77
2023	$34,667.78
2024	$70,215.19
2025	$109,556.16
2026 (today)	$77,174.00

You can use this site with a chart for yearly candles.
https://charts.bitbo.io/yearly-candles/

Cryptorank.io with a table for Bitcoin annual price, with high price, low price, and % change.
https://cryptorank.io/price/bitcoin/analytics

18 years look like yesterday and Bitcoin has gone very far since then, but it's not right to say early Bitcoin adopters did not face with any challenge in Bitcoin industry and market.

[Sanitough]

That's why we need to thank satoshi.

if you have a message to him, right here, - What is your message to the real Satoshi?  ^{(my thread btw)}

18 years and counting, here's to 100 more years !!

[Ambatman]

Almost like a football club.
Well a good club that do act out of place sometimes but at the end they are heading in the right direction.
Compared to most I learnt about Bitcoin late around 2020 and knew barely nothing.
But I'm sure I'm still early
We all still are
Because there are years more to go.

Social media really isn't the best place to learn about something you know nothing about.

Happy birthday Bitcoin!

  If I'm not mistaken today should be the white-paper birthday or something
Since the network itself was birthed January.

[Pandorak]

It’s hard to believe Bitcoin is already 18 years old, time really does fly, a year feels like a month, a month feels like a week and a week feels like a day.

It hasn’t been an easy journey for Bitcoin, starting from its very inception, which sparked so much resistance and skepticism. However, as we can see today, not only are institutions holding it, but some countries have even decided to adopt Bitcoin as part of their national reserves. Here’s hoping Bitcoin will continue to grow and thrive every year, every cycle .

[stepwilli]

Honestly, I can't believe that some dude changed my life so much. The past 10+ years of my life, by now around 15 years, have changed drastically because some dude wanted to create something, and he did. Thanks to Bitcoin, I spent an entire decade of my life, which is a huge chunk of someone's life, working in the crypto world; it is incredible.

I think it is clear that we are going to end up with something that would be very nice to achieve; I am sure this is great. Thank you to Satoshi for a wonderful 18 years.

[Sunshine1525]

That's why we need to thank satoshi.

if you have a message to him, right here, - What is your message to the real Satoshi?  ^{(my thread btw)}

18 years and counting, here's to 100 more years !!

It's true, whoever is behind the name deserves to be praised for giving us the opportunity control and preserve our money by ourselves. Although I wasn't opportuned to buy and hold it earlier but from the experience I've got since I took Bitcoin seriously, i think it's one of the most fantastic invention in the history of mankind.

Before 2008, I doubt people would've believed that a time would come when the government can't control a particular kind of money nor overprint, it's amazing when you think about it and all thanks to Satoshi for such opportunity cause whether earlier or later, owning Bitcoin is the best thing anyone can do for themselves

[JoyMarsha]

How have these 18 years of Bitcoin's existence been for you?

Only for the few years I have known Bitcoin, it's has been blessed year that I'm happy that I am among the people who have entrusted their money in Bitcoin than leaving it in fiat that comes with little or no profits for years.

Now of course, with Bitcoin, I can dream of having a secure future with huge profits to make along the line. This is all because I accepted Bitcoin as my store of value

[Z-tight]

How have these 18 years of Bitcoin's existence been for you?

For me, the best part of being a bitcoiner is that i have learnt a lot about online security and finance all in one. If you truly decide to understand BTC, there is no way it would not change your mind about security. Now i pay attention to things i ordinarily wouldn't have in the past, like passwords, or talking about money with strangers, or how to identify what looks too good to be true, etc.

I have more things to say, but i do not want to write a very long post. In short, i am genuinely happy that i found BTC when i did, it has been a great journey for me, one that has changed my life, all thanks to Satoshi.

[HustleZ]

It was exactly 18 years ago that the White Paper was published:
https://www.metzdowd.com/pipermail/cryptography/2008-October/014810.html

It all started with an exchange of emails, and today we have one of the most valuable assets in the world.

I think nobody who received that email 18 years ago would have expected Bitcoin to be what it is today.

Congratulations Bitcoin!


How have these 18 years of Bitcoin's existence been for you?

Well i will be more thrilled to have spent 18 years as a bitcoin user myself. But being for 18 years on top of the charts in a highly competitive world where something like Bitcoin emerging from being an invaluable coin to becoming the crypto with highest Mcap that challenges many assets that have been around for many thousands and hundred years so yeah that is a great progress. Though not a good bday present considering the Binance Hack recently

[JollyGood]

When you state it is never too late to buy, I disagree with the matter in principle as there is a significant risk involved whenever buying crypto and applying due-diligence is advised.

Keeping that aside, how are those reading supposed to understand the correlation between the year and prices that your post has listed? Are they end of year figures or randomly selected?

Happy Birthday Bitcoin, It had been a great run for it to become an adult while I was with it from its early days, I failed to capitalize on it, yet its never too late to buy and hold some as bitcoin has never failed to deliver.

Year	BTC price (USD)
2011	$3.30
2012	$11.20
2013	$204.00
2014	$338.32
2015	$314.17
2016	$700.97
2017	$6,468.40
2018	$6,317.61
2019	$9,199.58
2020	$13,780.99
2021	$61,318.96
2022	$20,495.77
2023	$34,667.78
2024	$70,215.19
2025	$109,556.16
2026 (today)	$77,174.00

22, 23 were a drop compared to 21 but in 24 it gained more than it lost, this year and specially today might look grim but we should forget where bitcoin was and how far it has reached. Not just in price, but also in its technology, development, and the strength of a community that continues to push it forward. Bitcoin is about much more than its price today, and its journey is far from over.

[ovcijisir]

I cant believe that Bitcoin is here for so long... Even though I first heard about BTC back in 2013. it took me years before I decided to purchase some. This is also time when I joined the forum. After getting first satoshis first learning about crypto was just a new hobby, but with time it really changed my life as I learned about inflation, economics and self custody, lost crypto a few times, earned some too, and got to know some good people that shared the same interests in the process.

[kawetsriyanto]

It was exactly 18 years ago that the White Paper was published:
https://www.metzdowd.com/pipermail/cryptography/2008-October/014810.html

Yep. It is already 18 years ago. Time flies so fast, TBH I feel like it was just few years ago.

It all started with an exchange of emails, and today we have one of the most valuable assets in the world.
I think nobody who received that email 18 years ago would have expected Bitcoin to be what it is today.

We don't know it. How knows that some of them have guessed it. And some of them have been a part of Bitcoin holding until now. However, I agree that most of them may ignore it at that time. In that year, no one assume a digital coin like BTC to be a big asset as today. In the past, people more trusted on physical assets for their long term investment.

Congratulations Bitcoin!
How have these 18 years of Bitcoin's existence been for you?

Congratulations everyone who becomes a part of Bitcoin holding. Yep, Bitcoin is here for us! We hope Bitcoin to exist as long as possible..

[Churchillvv]

I imagine people who lost hope in dollar and other currencies in the world during the financial crisis and not hoping for anything better but today they have bitcoin which was never expected and it didn’t just break records it is a paradigm shift from what everyone used to know to something very different and unconditional. Never surrendered to pressure and still coexist the fiat. I can’t also image when bitcoin was first created because I was probably not fully aware of the world and what’s happening around the globe.

[Floxynice]

Wow, Bitcoin is already 18 years old? With how long Bitcoin has survived attacks and criticisms, I do not expect that there will still be critics anticipating its collapse. Two to five years should be enough to test whether a project is viable and can stand the test of time. Bitcoin has just achieved a clear milestone.

Out of its 18 years, I have only been involved in Bitcoin for 2 years. The journey has been smooth since I learned about Bitcoin and started actively investing in it. Thank you Satoshi for this creation.

[snowpega]

You really remind me of my initial days in the crypto space when I bought my Bitcoin.
I had some friends of mine at the university who used to talk about the Bitcoin market and sometimes made a profit from it by trading. I used to ignore their talk those days. Because I was not interested in this. But with the passage of time, their talks gained my attention, and then I started to do my research, and then I bought my first Bitcoin. Honestly, I made good money from Bitcoin, not by trading but by holding it for a long period of time. And from then on, I really learned a lot of things about Bitcoin and the cryptocurrency space. I never thought the knowledge I learned in the crypto space could come from any other place. And this forum played a bonus role for me to learn more and more about Bitcoin.