Bitcoin's $8 Price Was Already a Distressed Asset
Bitcoin's price has skyrocketed from $8 in September 2011 to nearly $80,000 today. This represents an astonishing gain of roughly 998,000% and an annualized return near 85% over 15 years.
At the time, Bitcoin had already experienced its first spectacular boom and crash, losing about 75% of its value in just a few months. The asset's price had surged to $31.91 in June 2011, but within days, it plummeted due to exchange failures and security breaches.
The first halving event occurred in November 2012, reducing the block reward from 50 BTC to 25 BTC. This was followed by three more halvings, bringing the current block reward down to 3.125 BTC per block. The reduced supply issuance has contributed significantly to the price transformation.
The market structure has undergone a significant shift since then. Today, institutional custody and regulated investment products have become increasingly important, with U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs holding approximately $103.34 billion in assets.