12 years ago, Bitcoins inventor Satoshi Nakamoto launched the network after revealing the cryptocurrency concept via the white paper a few months prior. At approximately 18:15:05 UTC, the network launched its first block and since then, over 664,000 bitcoin blocks have been mined. Moreover, on the 12th anniversary of the network coming to life, a large string of 2010 block rewards started moving after more than ten years of sitting idle.

Cryptocurrency proponents are celebrating the invocation of the first computational network to solve the Byzantine Fault dilemma created by the pseudonymous inventor Satoshi Nakamoto. The birth of the Bitcoin (BTC) network is quite special and over the last 12 years, the crypto asset has become extremely valuable reaching a high today on January 3, at $34,800 per unit.

After Satoshi shared his cryptocurrency concept to a few interested individuals online on Halloween 2008, a little more than three months later he launched the hardcoded block reward, otherwise known as block zero or the genesis block.

Block zero or the genesis block has the usual 50 bitcoin reward, but these particular bitcoins can never be spent. The genesis block has two leading hex zeroes as well, which was a common characteristic for early blocks back then. Furthermore, the infamous block zero also contained a message that can be found in the blocks coinbase parameter.

This first blockchain message etched into Satoshis hardcoded bitcoin block says:

The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks.

The genesis block today not only has the 50 bitcoin block reward that cannot be spent, but also people have sent small fractions of bitcoin to the address ever since it was launched. The genesis block address has seen approximately 2,722 transactions and theres now a cumulative total of 68.35 BTC sitting idle.

These days, bitcoin blocks are quite predictable and are processed every 10 minutes or so by miners. But the block (1) that followed the hardcoded genesis block did not occur until seven days later. The first transaction with the software programmer, Hal Finney, took place in block 9 or three whole days after block 1 was mined.

Now Satoshi Nakamoto also spent time with the community, all the way until December 2010. It is well known that the inventor also mined the crypto asset during those months he spent curating the network with the community.

Interestingly, it is assumed by various academic papers that Nakamoto had mined anywhere between 700,000 to 1.1 million BTC during his tenure kickstarting the network. The inventor did this allegedly with a single Windows-based personal computer. It is also assumed that Nakamoto has not spent any coins since they were initially mined, and his stash of a million bitcoin has sat idle since they were issued.

Quite a lot of old coins that stem from coinbase rewards have not been spent and they have sat dormant for well over ten years. For example, the onchain researchers from Glassnode tweeted on December 18, 2020, that 1.78 million bitcoins have never left their miner address.

Interestingly, last year in 2020, news.Bitcoin.com discovered an old-school miner or miners who spent a consecutive number of 2010 block rewards in strings. Every string spent last year, has been around 20 to 21 block rewards from 2010 and these coins never moved once since the day they were issued.

Surprisingly, the mystery miner or miners have spent another large string of sleeping bitcoins from the Satoshi-era today on the 12th anniversary of the Bitcoin network launch. On January 3, 2021, precisely 20 block rewards from 2010 were spent at block height 664,263. The old school miner from 2010 sent the 1,000 bitcoins worth over $33.9 million to a BTC address that started with 35grPirp.

After the initial consolidation, the 1,000 BTC was split up into fractions following the exact same patterns news.Bitcoin.com discovered with all the other 2010 block strings. Todays 20 block spend was caught by Btcparser.com, and a visual perspective of the string of 2010 blocks spent on theholyroger.coms Satoshi Bags Tracker.

Usually, this miner, if it is one single entity will spend one more 2010 block a little later on in the day to make the tally 21 block rewards spent. Decade-old block reward spends from the Satoshi era are quite rare, but they have been picking up steam since 2020.

It is also worth noting that the old school miner always spends the corresponding bitcoin cash (BCH) block rewards too, but not the bitcoinsv (BSV) rewards. The only time the miner spent block rewards on all three chains was the 21 block rewards from 2010 spent on March 11, 2020, the day before the infamous Black Thursday.

Todays block spends from 2010 are quite special, seeing how they were transferred on Bitcoins birthday, while the crypto asset also touched another all-time price high as well.

We really dont know if these coins were sold or plan to be sold on the open market. The technical term spent simply means the coins left the original address they stemmed from, and it doesnt necessarily mean the coins are being sold on exchanges. Moreover, the term Satoshi-era, also doesnt mean the coins derived from Nakamoto either, as the term simply means the inventor was around during this time period.

What do you think about the 12th year anniversary of the Bitcoin blockchain? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.

Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons, Btcparser.com, Bitcoin.com, Holyroger.com,

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not a direct offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation or endorsement of any products, services, or companies. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in this article.

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1000 Decade-Old Dormant Bitcoins Moved Today on Bitcoin's 12th Anniversary - Bitcoin News

Bitcoin continued its unabated rally on the third day of 2021. The most popular cryptocurrency surged past $34,000 on Sunday, the day of Bitcoin Network's 12-year anniversary. The development came within 24 hours of Bitcoin crossing the $30,000 milestone.

With yet another above $1,000 surge, Bitcoin's value has increased around $5,000 in the within the first three days of 2021, bringing its year-to-date returns to 12 per cent, reported Coindesk.

On Saturday, Bitcoin had crossed the $30,000 mark for the first time. During early trade on Sunday, the digital currency reached an all-time high of $34,544.94. It later gave up some gains to hover around $33,000. At the time of writing this report, Bitcoin was trading at $33,900.50, up 10.59 per cent.

Bitcoin's continuous surge during the past three days comes in the backdrop of a historic year when the digital currency gave more than 300 per cent returns, surpassing even safe-haven investment avenues like gold and silver.

Last year, Bitcoin had fallen 25 per cent in March amid the coronavirus crisis. It managed to bounce back, breaching the $20,000 mark for the first time at the end of November. The cryptocurrency then continued to surge, rising 50 per cent in December alone. By the end of December 31, Bitcoin had risen $10,000.

The main reason behind the rise of Bitcoin may be bulk buying by big US investors. They expect to make quick gains amid some positive developments around the cryptocurrency, including speculations that it could become a mainstream payment method.

A major jump in Bitcoin price - from $5,000 to $25,000 - was seen after online payment major PayPal announced in March that it'll enable its account holders to use Bitcoin. This marks a colossal 400 per cent increase in the past eight months. ZebPay, one of India's largest cryptocurrency exchanges, has predicted that Bitcoin's value could hit over $135,000 by 2030.

As Bitcoin grows in popularity, Indian government is planning to impose 18 per cent GST on its transactions. The Central Economic Intelligence Bureau (CEIB), an arm of Finance Ministry, has put forward a proposal to impose 18 per cent GST, saying it could potentially gain Rs 7,200 crore annually on bitcoin trading. The CEIB came to the conclusion based on a study on levying GST on cryptocurrencies.

ALSO READ: Bitcoin surpasses $30,000 as rally continues in 2021

ALSO READ: Centre may impose 18% GST on bitcoin trading

ALSO READ: Gold price rose 28% in 2020; check out targets for next year

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Bitcoin crosses $34,000 first time in 12 years, rises $5,000 in 3 days - Business Today

Kenny Malone and Alice Wilder

Kenny Malone and Alice Wilder

Note: This episode originally ran in 2018.

Plenty of people will tell you they're getting rich off of bitcoin. They could be right. But there's another group of bitcoin owners that aren't so ecstatic. Because they might be rich, too, but they lost the passkey that would let them get at their digital fortune. In the decentralized anti-governmental world of bitcoin, you can't file a claim for damaged or lost currency. You've either got the key, or you don't.

Syl Turner is in that second, less glamorous group. When he got around one-and-a-half bitcoins about a decade ago, they were nearly worthless. So worthless he bunked the hard drive that held the key somewhere and now he can't remember where.

We join Syl on a digital treasure hunt, as he ventures into his attic looking for what could be the key to his bitcoin wallet, and tens of thousands of dollars. Then Kimberly Grauer and Jonathan Levin of Chainalysis help us figure out how much bitcoin has been lost and why it's so difficult to track down, and try to figure out if there's any way to find Syl's vanished riches.

Music: "Wild Baby Rock," "Interstate 65," and "Optimist."

Find us: Twitter / Facebook / Instagram / TikTok

Subscribe to our show on Apple Podcasts, Pocket Casts and NPR One.

It's anyone's guess what 2021 will hold for the economy, so stay informed by subscribing to our Newsletter.

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Billions in lost Bitcoin: the buried treasure that people can never get back : Planet Money - NPR

Investors ended one of Wall Streets wildest years on record by piling into everything from bitcoin to emerging markets, raising expectations that a powerful economic comeback will fuel even more gains.

The vast climb known as the everything rally accelerated late in the year, sending the S&P 500 to its 33rd record of 2020 last week. Following an early-year collapse, the broad U.S. equity gauge, global stocks and an index of raw materials each rose at least 35% from the end of March through the end of the year, only the third time in figures going back five decades that all of those investments have climbed so much in such a short time, according to Dow Jones Market Data. Both of the previous nine-month periods were in 2009 exiting the financial crisis.

The S&P 500 ended the year up 68% from its March lows, after losing more than one-third of its value in about a month. Government bond yields, which fall as prices rise, remain near all-time lows. Meanwhile, corporate bond yields also dropped after early-year turmoil. That means many bond investors ended the year with gains. And U.S. crude-oil prices are back near $50 a barrel after briefly dropping below $0 for the first time ever in April.

After the eye-popping rise during a global pandemic highlighted confidence that central banks and governments would prop up the world economy, many investors now expect the delivery of vaccines to buoy markets.

Gauges of sentiment from organizations including the American Association of Individual Investors show bearishness at multiyear lows. Meanwhile, tens of billions of dollars have recently plowed into exchange-traded and mutual funds that track stocks. Both of those trends have preceded past pullbacks, signaling excessive optimism to some cautious investors. Some are drawing parallels to the outsize gains late in 2017 and early 2018, before trade tensions and higher interest rates roiled markets.

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From Stocks to Bitcoin, Investors Bet the Everything Rally Will Continue - The Wall Street Journal

Bitcoin got the new year off to a scorching start as investors continued to pile on bets that the digital currencys price will keep rising.

The price of bitcoin rose as much as 19% over the weekend, trading as high as $34,452 on Sunday, according to CoinDesk. It finished 2020 at $28,966, more than quadrupling on the year.

Bitcoin has been on an extended rally since early September, part of the everything rally that has fueled gains in stocks, emerging markets and other assets.

In many respects, what has happened in the first few days of 2021 resembled a stock market short squeeze, said AvaTrade analyst Naeem Aslam. He was referring to the cascade of buying that can happen when investors respond to a price jump by buying back stock they have sold in an effort to keep their losses from mounting.

It wasnt just bitcoin that took a wild ride. The price of ether, the second-largest cryptocurrency, rose as much as 35% over the three-day weekend, trading above $1,000 for the first time since early 2018. Ether eased by 1% on Monday, closing at $998.

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Bitcoin Surges Into 2021, Rose Nearly 20% Over Weekend - The Wall Street Journal

The rally in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies hasnt run out of the steam despite the 500% surge in 2020, says Charles Edwards, founder, Capriole Investment a digital asset management company specializing in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. In an interview with ET, Edwards says the reduction in supply of Bitcoin along with high inflation rates could auger well for digital currencies.

What is your 2021 outlook for Bitcoin? Any price target or estimate as to how the asset will perform in the year?2021 will is a special year in the Bitcoin cycle. A number of factors are aligning for Bitcoin right now:

I go into 2021 with great confidence the next 12 months will be no different.

I expect to see Bitcoin reach prices in the region of $100K-200K in 2021 and would be shocked if it doesnt hit at least $50K. Prices as high as $300K plus are definitely viable.

The return potential for Bitcoin in 2021 is incredible.

From there, each person will need to determine the appropriate amount and way to invest in Bitcoin. A time tested and successful approach to reducing risk and getting great returns over the long term is to dollar cost average allocate a percentage of your income each month to automatically buy Bitcoin. This approach reduces the impact of large downdraws and has historically achieved great returns.

What are the key challenges you see for Cryptocurrencies in the next one-two years?There are only two challenges I consider for Bitcoin over the coming years:

Sooner or later governments will realize that Bitcoin is not a gimmick. It is a fundamental challenger to all fiat currencies. I expect we will receive announcements over the coming years of Bitcoin replacing a number of small country currencies. As Bitcoin grows, into the multi-trillion-dollar market capitalization in 2021 and beyond, this perceived threat will grow clearer to larger countries. The only way an individual country can effectively ban Bitcoin here is to outlaw or excessively regulate Bitcoin to the point that it becomes unusable.

Hacking of the Bitcoin blockchain is also broadly a risk. Again this risk is small today.

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Bitcoin prices may skyrocket to $2 lakh this year: Analyst - Economic Times