Bitcoin is rapidly approaching $100,000

(This Nov. 21 article has been corrected to correct a Nov. 12, 2024 entry to remove reference to the cryptocurrency’s market value reaching $3 trillion “for the first time.”

Bitcoin approached $100,000 for the first time on Thursday as the election of Republican Donald Trump as president increased expectations that his administration will create a friendly regulatory environment for cryptocurrencies.

The world’s largest and best-known cryptocurrency has more than doubled in value from this year’s low of $38,505 and is up about 45 percent in the two weeks since Trump’s landslide election victory.

Here are the key events on Bitcoin’s path to $100,000:

2008: Satoshi Nakamoto, a pseudonym used by the purported developer of the cryptocurrency, introduces the concept of Bitcoin.

2010: The first retail transaction occurs when a user pays 10,000 Bitcoin for two Papa John’s pizzas.

2013: As Bitcoin grows in popularity, Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, co-founders of crypto exchange Gemini, file their first application with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to create a spot Bitcoin ETF.

Grayscale Investments launches Bitcoin Investment Trust, a public, private Bitcoin trust.

2016: The Winklevoss brothers made multiple adjustments to their app, such as the exchange on which the product would be sold. They are also filing amendments to appoint State Street as administrator. Grayshades files with the SEC to convert its Bitcoin trust into a spot Bitcoin ETF.

2017: The SEC rejects Winklevoss’ application on the grounds that Bitcoin markets are not mature enough. Grayscale is abandoning its first attempt to convert its fund into an ETF, saying the regulatory framework is not strong enough.

2018: The Securities and Exchange Commission rejects the Winklevoss twins’ second application to launch a spot Bitcoin ETF, saying cryptocurrency exchanges do not have the necessary controls to prevent manipulation.

2020: Grayscale converts its trust to an SEC reporting entity and its shares begin trading on the pink sheets for stocks that trade on the over-the-counter market. While not an ETF, it is the first publicly traded Bitcoin fund in the United States.

2021: First spot Bitcoin ETF launches in Canada. Gary Gensler will succeed Jay Clayton as SEC chairman in April.

In October, the SEC approves the listing of ProShares Bitcoin Trust on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, noting that the CME has a satisfactory mechanism for monitoring abuses in the futures market. It is the first Bitcoin ETF listed on a futures exchange in the United States, amassing $1 billion in assets in its first days of trading, faster than any other ETF.

Also in October, Grayscale again files with the SEC to convert its fund into a spot Bitcoin ETF.

2022: The SEC rejects several applications from potential issuers of spot Bitcoin ETFs, including SkyBridge, Fidelity and Bitwise. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) also rejected Grayscale’s application, prompting the company to sue the agency.

Amid the fall in cryptocurrency prices, several cryptocurrency companies have filed for bankruptcy, including Three Arrows Capital, Celsius Network and FTX, whose founder Sam Bankman-Fried is also accused of fraud.

2023:

May: Cathie Woods’ ARK Investments and CBOE Global Markets filed for a spot Bitcoin ETF, giving the SEC a maximum of 240 days to approve or reject the application.

June: BlackRock files with the SEC for a spot Bitcoin ETF, raising industry hopes that the agency might approve the product and sending the price of Bitcoin to a one-year high. A host of other issuers and exchanges, including Fidelity and Invesco, will file applications for Bitcoin ETFs in the coming weeks and months.

August: A federal appeals court in Washington, D.C., rules in Grayscale’s favor, saying the SEC did not explain why it rejected its offer. Europe’s first spot Bitcoin ETF begins trading on the Euronext Amsterdam stock exchange.

October: The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) decides not to appeal the decision in the Grayscale case and is required to reconsider the application.

2024:

January 10: The SEC approves 11 proposals from issuers including BlackRock, Fidelity and VanEck, among others, to launch spot Bitcoin ETFs.

February: Net inflows into the 10 largest ETFs reached $4 billion in the first month, according to LSEG data.

March: Bitcoin topped $70,000 for the first time and hit a record high, doubling in five months.

June: Trump has positioned himself as a champion of cryptocurrency and criticized Democratic attempts to regulate the sector during a fundraiser in San Francisco.

July: Trump tells a Bitcoin conference that if elected, he will create a strategic national stockpile of Bitcoin and ensure the United States becomes the “cryptocurrency capital of the planet.”

October: The US Securities and Exchange Commission grants “expedited approval” to US exchanges to list and trade options linked to 11 spot Bitcoin ETFs.

November 6: Trump is declared the winner of the presidential election, causing huge gains in a number of assets, with Bitcoin being the winner.

November 12: The total cryptocurrency market capitalization exceeds $3 trillion. Year-to-date net ETF inflows have reached $25.8 billion, according to LSEG.

November 21: Bitcoin approaches $100,000 for the first time in history, driven by increased buying by investors in anticipation of Trump’s rollback of many regulations surrounding cryptocurrency investments. Since the election, the price has increased by about 40 percent.