The climb continues a torrid summer for the popular digital asset, which has spent most of the past few months above $100,000, a benchmark it first reached in December 2024 before dipping back to $75,000 in April.
Originally conceptualized in a white paper by the pseudonymous figure Satoshi Nakamoto in 2008, Bitcoin served as the first cryptocurrency, or a kind of decentralized currency that is not controlled by a single entity or government. And while thousands of cryptocurrencies have since emerged, Bitcoin remains the largest by far, with a market capitalization of $2.25 trillion, compared to Ethereum’s $340 billion.
While Bitcoin’s price has spent most of its existence on a roller coaster—dramatically increasing and falling again amid hacks, collapses, and scandals—it has steadily grown since late 2022, when the bankruptcy of the crypto exchange FTX sent the industry into a so-called “winter.” Bitcoin’s real explosion, however, came after Trump embraced the cryptocurrency on the campaign trail, with Bitcoin topping $100,000 for the first time soon after his election.
For an experimental project first conceptualized as an alternative financial system, Bitcoin is increasingly dominated by publicly traded companies and funds. But if its enigmatic architect, Satoshi, ever reemerges, he would become one of the richest people on earth. His stash is now estimated at around $100 billion.
