Bitcoin's Historical Journey
Explore significant blocks and events that shaped Bitcoin's history and development.
Genesis Block
January 3, 2009Block 0
The first block in the Bitcoin blockchain, mined by Satoshi Nakamoto. It contains the famous Times headline about bank bailouts.
First Bitcoin Transaction
January 12, 2009Block 170
The first peer-to-peer Bitcoin transaction, sent from Satoshi Nakamoto to Hal Finney.
First Bitcoin Exchange Rate
October 5, 2009Block 24,835
New Liberty Standard publishes the first Bitcoin exchange rate: $1 = 1,309.03 BTC.
First Halving
November 28, 2012Block 210,000
The first Bitcoin halving event, reducing the block reward from 50 BTC to 25 BTC.
SegWit Activation
August 24, 2017Block 481,824
Segregated Witness (SegWit) activated on the Bitcoin network after BIP141 reached activation threshold.
Second Halving
July 9, 2016Block 420,000
The second Bitcoin halving event, reducing the block reward from 25 BTC to 12.5 BTC.
Lightning Network Mainnet Launch
March 15, 2018
Lightning Labs released the first beta version of the Lightning Network daemon (lnd) for Bitcoin mainnet.
Third Halving
May 11, 2020Block 630,000
The third Bitcoin halving event, reducing the block reward from 12.5 BTC to 6.25 BTC.
Taproot Activation
November 14, 2021Block 709,632
The Taproot upgrade activated on the Bitcoin network, implementing BIPs 340-342.
Fourth Halving
April 20, 2024Block 840,000
The fourth Bitcoin halving event, reducing the block reward from 6.25 BTC to 3.125 BTC.
Understanding Bitcoin's Evolution
Protocol Upgrades
Bitcoin evolves through soft forks - backward-compatible upgrades that allow nodes to opt in to new rules. Major upgrades like SegWit and Taproot have enhanced Bitcoin's scalability, privacy, and smart contract capabilities while maintaining its core principles of decentralization and security.
Halving Events
Bitcoin's monetary policy includes a halving event approximately every four years (210,000 blocks), where the block reward is cut in half. This predictable supply schedule creates a disinflationary currency with a maximum supply of 21 million bitcoins, expected to be reached around the year 2140.
Verifiable History
Bitcoin's Development Philosophy
Bitcoin development follows a conservative approach prioritizing security, decentralization, and backward compatibility. Changes to the protocol require broad consensus among developers, miners, and users.
This careful approach has allowed Bitcoin to maintain its security and reliability for over a decade, while still evolving to meet new challenges and opportunities.