Bitcoin’s wild price fluctuations have captivated traders and investors for over a decade.
The first exchange rate for Bitcoin, a major cryptocurrency, was established on the New Liberty Standard Exchange 15 years ago on October 5, 2009.
As noted Bitcoin historian Pete Rizzo points out, the price of the flagship cryptocurrency has increased by a staggering 8.7 billion% since then.
At that time, the world’s original cryptocurrency was worth less than 1 cent.
The exchange rate published by New Liberty Standardsard determined the value of the cryptocurrency to be $1 = 1,309.03 BTC. This was determined based on the cost of electricity required to run a computer to mine Bitcoin.
The first known Bitcoin-to-US dollar transaction was carried out by Finnish computer scientist Marti Marmi. Malmi famously sold a whopping amount of 5,550 BTC for just about $5 through PapaPal transfers.
Of course, at the time, Bitcoin had not yet attracted even a moderate following.
In the early days of Bitcoin, Marumi successfully mined a total of 55,000 BTC. However, he sold his Bitcoin fortune in 2012 when the price was less than $30 to buy an apartment in Helsinki, and liquidated his remaining holdings when he moved to Japan.
If Marmi had decided to hold on to his coins, he might have achieved millionaire status. He called his decision “unfortunate” but also insisted that making money was not his top priority. His Bitcoin fortune was an accidental byproduct of Satoshi asking him to keep his node running so others could connect, he said.
