I originally wrote this article for bitbyte.news

Over the past 14 years, there have been some iconic moments, that are worth mentioning. So, in today's post, let's go back in time & look at 1 key moment from every year in Bitcoin's history since 2009 to now.

Satoshi Nakamoto mined the Genesis Block of the Bitcoin blockchain, receiving a 50 BTC reward. This first Bitcoin block, also called Block 0 or the Genesis Block, featured a message that read "The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks," referencing a headline from The Times newspaper on the same day. This message underscored Bitcoin's mission to establish a decentralized financial system that did not depend on banks or centralized authorities.

On a significant day in Bitcoin history, Laszlo and Jercos accomplished something unprecedented by exchanging 10,000 BTC for two Papa John's pizzas, making it the first-ever real-world transaction involving cryptocurrency and tangible goods.

This momentous event, affectionately known as "Bitcoin Pizza Day," marked a significant milestone for the Bitcoin community.

Laszlo posted the offer on BitcoinTalk, when BTC was valued at $41 USD at the time, while estimating the value of the pizzas to be $25-$30 USD. He openly shared his physical address on the forum and found a taker for the offer after 3 days.

Reducing the mining reward from 50 BTC to 25 BTC. This milestone demonstrated the pre-programmed scarcity of Bitcoin and the impact on mining profitability and supply.

Mt. Gox, the world's largest bitcoin exchange, declares bankruptcy, claiming to have lost nearly 850,000 bitcoinleading to a decline in the value of bitcoin from its peak of around $1,160 in December 2013 to below $400 in February 2014. The bankruptcy results in emptied wallets, legal action, and controversy that continues to this day.

In January 2015, the exchange suffered a significant security breach, resulting in the loss of approximately 19,000 Bitcoin (BTC) worth around $5 million at the time. The incident was one of the largest security breaches in the history of cryptocurrency exchanges at that time.

Written by Joseph Poon and Thaddeus (Tadge) Dryja, the Lightning Network is a second-layer protocol built on top of the Bitcoin blockchain that aims to address the scalability and speed limitations of Bitcoin. The Lightning Network protocol is a network of bidirectional payment channels that allows users to make transactions with each other without having to record every transaction on the blockchain.

After a period of intense growth, Bitcoin came within spitting range of $20,000 per bitcoin, only to crash down hard in the next couple of days, triggering a multi-year bear run that saw the price go as low as $3,200.Bitcoin came close again a few times this November and December, but the price stopped short of $20,000, followed by some very intense drops.

The Lightning Network for Bitcoin was launched on March 15, 2018. It is a second-layer protocol that enables faster and cheaper transactions on the Bitcoin network by creating payment channels between users that allow for off-chain transactions.

The Lightning Network was created to address the scalability issues of the Bitcoin network, which was experiencing slow transaction times and high fees due to its limited block size. With the Lightning Network, users can conduct near-instant and low-cost transactions, making Bitcoin more practical for day-to-day use.

A decade has passed since the mysterious Satoshi Nakamoto mined the first genesis block on January 3, 2009, ushering in a tumultuous ten years of lawsuits, drug deals, feuds, forks, and unprecedented wealth creation for ordinary people worldwide.

As Bitcoin marks its 10th anniversary, its price reaches a daily peak of $3,893.40, which, while impressive, falls short of the stratospheric heights reached in 2017.

From March 12-13 2020, Bitcoin experienced a significant two-day price crash due to the coronavirus pandemic's impact on global financial markets.

The cryptocurrency's price dropped by more than 50% in just two days, falling from around $8,000 to $3,800 USD.

This was one of the most significant price drops in Bitcoin's history and caused widespread panic among investors. However, the price eventually stabilized, and Bitcoin recovered, reaching all-time highs in 2021.

On September 7, 2021, El Salvador became the first country in the world to adopt Bitcoin as a legal tender.

The country's president, Nayib Bukele, announced that the government would begin using Bitcoin as a currency for various transactions, including taxes, salaries, and goods and services.

The move was aimed at increasing financial inclusion and reducing the country's dependence on the US dollar.

The decision was met with both excitement and criticism, with some applauding the move as a step towards Bitcoin adoption, while others raised concerns about the potential risks and lack of clarity surrounding the implementation.

CEO Elon Musk said the Bitcoin sale was only to maximize Tesla's cash position.

Microstrategy has acquired 6,455 BTC, spending approximately $150 million in the process. This purchase has increased the value of the company's total Bitcoin holdings to an impressive $4.14 billion, with an average purchase price of $23.2k.

In addition, Microstrategy has paid off a loan of $161 million that it previously received from now-defunct crypto-friendly bank Silvergate.

What a great 14 years it has been - filled with plenty of highs and lows. But despite this, Bitcoin continues to grow and its global adoption increases.