Crypto Chronicles: Pivotal Developments and Milestones from 2013 to 2015
Summary:
This article provides a detailed overview of significant developments in the cryptocurrency world between 2013 and 2015. Highlights include mainstream adoption of Bitcoin (BTC), the consequential rise and fall of Mt. Gox, the appearance of the first memecoin and nonfungible token (NFT), and the inception of Ethereum. The article also explores the advent of several new crypto exchanges amid the turbulence, setting the course for today's crypto industry.
Cointelegraph's series, History of Crypto, powered by Phemex, guides the readers through significant occasions that have moulded the crypto industry to what it is now. In this instalment, we will focus on the period from 2013 to 2015, a critical phase in the domain of cryptocurrency. In this timeframe, with Bitcoin (BTC) being increasingly adopted by mainstream players, digital currencies began to emerge as a recognized financial construct. However, this time also witnessed the downfall of Mt. Gox, highlighting the inherent risks and instability in the blooming crypto market.
The crypto sphere experienced the arrival of the first memecoin and the first nonfungible token (NFT) during these years, marking a significant augmentation in the functional creativity of crypto platforms. A landmark development during this period was the inception of the Ethereum network which promised to utilize blockchain for more than just currency transactions, thereby heralding the advent of smart contracts and decentralized applications (DApps). This critical period shaped the future trajectory of the crypto movement.
After the first Bitcoin halving in late 2012, a notable Bitcoin price surge occurred by March 2013, taking its value to $92. This sparked its market capitalization to cross a billion dollars for the first time in history. Further invigorating the interest in Bitcoin was the spike in its price to an all-time high of $190 on April 10, 2013, in the backdrop of the ongoing Cyprus banking crisis. However, the high was short-lived, with its value dipping to $68 within a week.
Later in 2013, Bitcoin hit the $1,000 mark first on BTC China exchange (now BTCC), and thereafter on Mt. Gox, thus consolidating Bitcoin’s swelling significance in the financial world. However, towards June 2013, Mt. Gox, the leading crypto exchange then, started facing severe operational challenges and had to call a temporary halt on U.S. dollar withdrawals. Continued hurdles in smooth processing led to stoppage of Bitcoin withdrawals in February 2014, culminating in bankruptcy filing by Mt. Gox that same month. The crisis deepened with Mt. Gox seeking U.S. bankruptcy protection in March 2014 after revealing a huge customer loss of 750,000 BTC and 100,000 of its own coins, summing upto an estimated loss of $473 million.
While Mt. Gox faltered, several new crypto platforms started taking root. Okcoin (later renamed as OKX) began its journey on June 1, 2013, shortly followed by Kraken’s trading platform opening for trade in September 2013. Coincidentally, around the same time, Coinbase, established a year earlier in 2012, secured $25 million funding from Andreessen Horowitz in a Series B funding round, signalling the robust and continued growth of these upcoming crypto exchanges amid upheavals.
A major highlight of this period was the introduction of Ethereum network through a white paper by Vitalik Buterin in 2013. Envisioned as a versatile platform for developing DApps, Ethereum co-founders Gavin Wood, Charles Hoskinson, Anthony Di Iorio and Buterin unveiled it at the North American Bitcoin Conference in Miami in 2014. Since then, Ethereum has come to be recognized as the second largest digital asset by market capitalization, and has evolved as a key platform for DApps.
Our upcoming instalment of the History of Crypto series will shed light on the initial coin offering boom and the continued progression of Ethereum. Stay tuned to Cointelegraph for reflections on pivotal moments in the history of cryptocurrency.
Published At
3/27/2024 5:15:00 PM
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