On January 3, 2009, Satoshi Nakamoto mined Bitcoin's "Genesis Block," and the history of cryptocurrency began. Then, in 2010, a programmer in Florida bought two pizzas for 10,000 BTC.
This transaction was the first step in the practical application of cryptocurrency, and even today, in the cryptocurrency industry, there are businesses and communities that celebrate the memorable date of this transaction, May 22, as "Bitcoin Pizza Day."
As cryptocurrency has developed, it has also experienced many trials. In 2014, Mt. Gox, the world's largest Bitcoin exchange at the time, was hacked, and approximately 850,000 BTC (equivalent to approximately $450 million at the time) was lost.
After that, in 2018, approximately $534 million worth of NEM was stolen from Coincheck, and in 2024, 4,509.2 BTC (equivalent to approximately $482 million) was illegally leaked from DMM Bitcoin. These incidents greatly shook confidence in the security of cryptocurrency exchanges.
In both cases, hacking targeted the management system of the "exchanges" that manage cryptocurrencies, and did not exploit vulnerabilities in the cryptocurrencies themselves. In July 2015, Ethereum, developed by Vitalik Buterin and others, began operation.
As a platform that supports smart contracts, it provided the foundation for decentralized applications (dApps). In addition, in 2022, it completed the transition to Proof of Stake (PoS), significantly reducing the environmental burden. It has evolved the cryptocurrency ecosystem to the next stage.
With the advent of Ethereum, the ICO (Initial Coin Offering) boom arrived in 2017. Anyone could easily issue tokens and raise funds, and the cryptocurrency market rapidly boomed. However, fraudulent projects and unclear regulations became problems, and the boom subsided in a short period of time as regulations were tightened.
There were other issues that came to light as cryptocurrencies grew rapidly. In 2018, the allegations of Tether (USDT) insufficient reserves became a topic of discussion. In 2021, through a settlement with the New York State Attorney General, it was revealed that part of the issuance consisted of short-term debt, and the reliability of stablecoins was called into question.
Even under such circumstances, the usefulness of blockchain technology and crypto assets continues to attract attention. The use of crypto assets is also progressing at the national level, and in September 2021, El Salvador adopted Bitcoin as legal tender. Aiming to reduce remittance costs and promote financial inclusion, mining facilities are being developed as a national project.
In 2022, the peg of the algorithmic stablecoin UST collapsed, causing a chain reaction of collapse of related projects. Although the so-called "Terra (LUNA) shock" and the collapse of FTX, the second largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, cast a dark shadow over the market, the cryptocurrency market is still on the path to growth again.
In January 2024, the first Bitcoin spot ETF was approved in the United States, accelerating the entry of institutional investors. This triggered Bitcoin to reach an all-time high of $100,000 in December of the same year. This historic milestone marked a step towards cryptocurrency establishing a new position in the global financial system.
The cryptocurrency market has undergone dramatic changes in its short history. Its evolutionary trajectory shows technological innovation, overcoming challenges, and the expanding possibilities brought about by global adoption. This story, which reflects the future of finance, will continue to make new history.
From here, we will consider how the cryptocurrency industry will develop in 2025 and what use cases will emerge, as we have summarized the topics expected for each month.
