Bitcoin is nearing the $100,000-mark in prices, but the bigger story behind the anticipation among holders is the top cryptocurrency's journey of challenging a $2 trillion market capitalization.
As of early Thursday, the world's most valuable cryptocurrency is challenging a new milestone. CoinMarketCap puts BTC's market value at $1.89 trillion, while CoinGecko has it at $1.88 trillion.
Bitcoin is currently trading between $95,000 and $96,000 after hitting an all-time high above $99,500 earlier this week. It remains in the green and is expected to continue climbing as the U.S. prepares for Donald Trump's re-entry into the White House.
Why Does Bitcoin's Recent Momentum Matter?
Before reaching a staggering $1.89 trillion market cap, BTC first had to challenge Saudi Aramco, the world's largest oil producer and one of the top profitable companies worldwide.
Just last week, Bitcoin pulled through, toppling the oil behemoth to become the world's seventh-largest asset by market value.
It is now challenging Google's parent company, Alphabet, which has a market value of $2.080 trillion. It is only behind e-commerce titan Amazon in the ranks, which is valued at $2.163 trillion.
If Bitcoin hits the $2 trillion mark, it will be the first digital asset to do so, and it will be the first digital currency to join the ranks of big tech giants that gradually achieved the said feats over the years.
Bitcoin's journey is spectacular for many reasons, but more so because it was a highly doubted asset in its early days and unlike Aramco, which is a 91-year veteran in business, BTC is only over a decade old.
$BTC's Historical Milestones
Here's a look at Bitcoin's colorful journey through the years as it makes its way to the $2 trillion club:
- White Paper – Pseudonymous creator/s Satoshi Nakamoto published the BTC white paper on Oct 31, 2008
- Genesis block – The Genesis block was mined in January 2009, marking the first BTC transaction record
- Pizza – Laszlo Hanyecz buys two pizzas for 10,000 Bitcoin (valued at around $25 at the time) in May 2010, becoming the first known use case of BTC as a payment for goods
- $1 – Bitcoin hits $1 on February 2011 for the first time
- 1st Halving – The rewards for BTC miners are reduced in half for the first time on Nov. 28, 2012
- China jumps in – The People's Bank of China approves the participation of the Chinese people in the growing Bitcoin market in November 2013
- Tech giant thumbs up – Computer giant Dell announces it has started accepting BTC payments in July 2014
- Coinbase goes all in – Then a startup and popular BTC outlet and payment processor, Coinbase announces the launch of its own Bitcoin trading platform in January 2015
- Regulatory clarity – Bitcoin received regulatory clarity on Sept. 18, 2015, when the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) declared in a lawsuit that BTC and other virtual currencies are commodities
- 2nd Halving – BTC went through its second halving on July 9, 2016, as prices traded at around $600
- New price milestone – Bitcoin hits $5,000 for the first time in October 2017
- Institutional interest – Asset management titan BlackRock established a working group to study blockchain and Bitcoin in July 2018
- Charity convergence – In what could be one of the biggest achievements for Bitcoin, UNICEF announces ahead of the BTC white paper's 11th anniversary in October 2019 that it will begin accepting donations in Bitcoin and Ether (ETH)
- Twitter frenzy – Twitter (now X) added the Bitcoin emoji in February 2020, driving prices above $10,000
- Musk effect – Tech billionaire Elon Musk added #bitcoin to his bio on January 29, 2021, driving BTC prices to a 20% spike
- Regulatory framework – U.S. President Joe Biden issued a digital assets executive order in March 2022 that urged the establishment of a regulatory framework to regulate Bitcoin and other crypto assets
- Institutional drive – WisdomTree and Valkyrie re-filed their applications for a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) in June 2023 after BlackRock made a filing
- ETFs unlock a new era – Under much pressure from the industry, the SEC approves spot BTC ETFs in January 2024, ushering in a new era of broader adoption
- The $100K challenge – BTC prices hit $99,000 for the first time last Friday after SEC Chair Gary Gensler announced he is stepping down during President-elect Donald Trump's inauguration
It remains to be seen how long BTC will take before it completes the $2 trillion trio with Google and Amazon, but based on its current pricing action, as well as optimism in the industry around Trump's White House takeover, the digital currency just may make history again very soon.
