At the end of 2009, the New Liberty Standard Exchange achieved the first exchange of Bitcoin for US dollars, with a price of about one-tenth of a cent per coin.
On May 22, 2010, the first transaction using Bitcoin to purchase a physical item was made public. A programmer from Florida, Laszlo Hanyecz, exchanged 10,000 bitcoins (worth less than $40) for two large pizzas (worth $25).
At the beginning of 2011, Bitcoin first broke through $0.40, then surpassed $1 on February 9, reaching an annual high of nearly $30 in June, and closing the year at $4.70.
2012. Throughout the year, Bitcoin consolidated and slowly strengthened, experiencing its first 'halving' in November (which occurs approximately every four years), closing the year at $13.50.
In 2013, the world's first Bitcoin ATM was put into use in Vancouver. In early April, Bitcoin broke through $100, and on November 28, it first surpassed $1,000, reaching a high of over $1,200 during the year, and closing at $805.
In early January 2014, after Bitcoin touched $1,000, it fell to $111.60 on February 21, a drop of nearly 90%, due to a hack on the Bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox, closing the year at around $318.
In 2017, Bitcoin experienced a breakout year, consecutively breaking through $5,000, $6,000, and reaching $10,000 (on November 28) starting in September, and breaking through $19,000 in mid-December. Bitcoin futures began trading on the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) in December, closing the year at $13,850.
In 2018, Bitcoin was in a downward trend, closing at $3,709, down 73% for the year. Bitcoin soared and then fell again in 2019, closing below $7,200.
In 2020, at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Bitcoin fell, but then surged to nearly $20,000 in November due to liquidity released by the Federal Reserve and the anticipation of a COVID-19 vaccine, closing at $28,949.
In 2021, the price of Bitcoin rose sharply at the beginning of the year, consecutively breaking through $30,000, $40,000, $50,000, and $60,000, peaking at over $64,000 in mid-April. In June, the President of El Salvador proposed to make Bitcoin the country's legal tender. By the end of the year, the Federal Reserve announced that it would begin tapering its bond purchases, leading to a downturn in Bitcoin.
In 2022, the Federal Reserve began to raise interest rates significantly in March, causing Bitcoin prices to decline. With interest rates expected to peak in October 2023 and rumors that the SEC would allow Bitcoin spot ETFs to be listed, Bitcoin began to rise again, closing at over $42,000.
In 2024, the Bitcoin spot ETF was approved for listing in January, with a large influx of funds pushing the price to an all-time high of over $73,000 in March. In November, Trump was re-elected as President of the United States, and Bitcoin first broke through $90,000, nearing the $100,000 mark.