Timeline
History of the Bitcoin Treasury Movement
From the cypherpunks to the corporate balance sheet. The milestones that define Bitcoin's transformation from a technological experiment into the strategic reserve of the world's most innovative companies.
Bitcoin genesis block
Satoshi Nakamoto mines the first Bitcoin block and embeds in it the headline from The Times: 'Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks'. Peer-to-peer money without intermediaries is born with an unmistakable political message.
First commercial transaction: 10,000 BTC for two pizzas
Laszlo Hanyecz pays 10,000 BTC for two Papa John's pizzas — the first time Bitcoin is used to buy a physical good. The date is remembered ever since as Bitcoin Pizza Day.
First halving — 25 BTC per block
The block mining reward is cut from 50 to 25 BTC. It is the protocol's first major deflationary event, confirming that Bitcoin's programmed scarcity works exactly as Satoshi designed it.
Second halving — 12.5 BTC per block
The second halving cuts issuance to 12.5 BTC per block. The community begins to understand the four-year cycle as a monetary clock. The price would top $20,000 within the following year.
Third halving — 6.25 BTC per block
The pandemic and massive monetary stimulus create the perfect backdrop for Bitcoin's next chapter. The reward falls to 6.25 BTC while the world prints trillions of dollars.
MicroStrategy buys 21,454 BTC — the corporate treasury is born
Michael Saylor turns MicroStrategy into the first listed company to adopt Bitcoin as its primary treasury reserve, investing $250 million. It marks the start of a new capital model: the BTC treasury.
Tesla buys 43,200 BTC
Elon Musk announces that Tesla has invested $1.5 billion in Bitcoin. The move pushes the price above $40,000 and confirms that mega-cap corporations regard Bitcoin as a legitimate store of value.
Bitcoin reaches its all-time high: $69,000
Bitcoin sets its all-time high of $69,044. The confluence of institutional adoption, the halving and an inflationary macro backdrop produces the peak of the fourth bull cycle.
Terra/LUNA collapses — $60B wiped out in 72 hours
The UST stablecoin algorithm fails and drags LUNA down to virtually zero. More than $60 billion is erased from the crypto market in less than three days. Bitcoin falls from $40,000 to $29,000 and systemic contagion starts spreading across the industry: Celsius, Three Arrows Capital and Voyager are left mortally wounded.
Celsius freezes withdrawals and 3AC collapses — the crypto winter sets in
Celsius suspends customer withdrawals on June 12, leaving more than $12 billion in assets at risk. Days later, Three Arrows Capital — the sector's largest hedge fund — is liquidated. The Terra contagion materializes in a chain of bankruptcies and Bitcoin breaks below $20,000 for the first time since 2020.
FTX files for bankruptcy — the biggest fraud in crypto history
Sam Bankman-Fried, presented for years as the respectable face of the industry, turns out to be responsible for the biggest fraud in Bitcoin's history. FTX — the world's second-largest exchange — files for bankruptcy on November 11 with a hole of more than $8 billion in customer funds. Bitcoin marks its cycle low around $15,500.
Cycle bottom: BTC ~$16,500 and MicroStrategy briefly underwater
Bitcoin closes 2022 near $16,500, down 76% from the all-time high. MicroStrategy stock bottoms near $130 and, for the first time since Saylor launched the playbook, the treasury sits momentarily below its average cost basis. The corporate treasury thesis faces its first public test — and survives.
SEC approves the first spot Bitcoin ETFs in the US
The SEC simultaneously approves 11 spot Bitcoin ETFs, including those from BlackRock (IBIT), Fidelity (FBTC) and Ark Invest. They accumulate billions within their first days, opening Bitcoin to millions of institutional investors.
Fourth halving — 3.125 BTC per block
With the ETFs approved and institutional interest growing, the fourth halving cuts the reward to 3.125 BTC per block. Bitcoin's annual issuance falls below transaction-fee revenue for the first time.
Trump elected — pro-Bitcoin policy enters the White House
Donald Trump wins the election on an openly pro-Bitcoin platform, promising a national strategic BTC reserve. The price tops $100,000 for the first time in history.
Metaplanet passes 10,000 BTC — Asia leads the new wave
Metaplanet, listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, becomes Asia's largest Bitcoin treasury and one of the largest in the world. Saylor's model is successfully replicated in Japan, sustaining a persistent mNAV premium.
Twenty One Capital — Strategy's direct competitor
Backed by Tether, SoftBank and Cantor Fitzgerald, Twenty One Capital launches with more than 40,000 BTC on its balance sheet, becoming the world's third-largest corporate treasury from day one.
Strategy passes 550,000 BTC — the largest treasury in history
Michael Saylor consolidates Strategy as the world's largest corporate holder of Bitcoin, with more than 550,000 BTC. The accumulated BTC Yield turns the playbook into an unprecedented capital-allocation case study.
Metaplanet crosses 20,000 BTC — the Asian response consolidates
Six months after passing 10,000 BTC, Metaplanet doubles its treasury to more than 20,000 BTC. The mNAV premium remains elevated and turns the Japanese listed company into the benchmark for the treasury model outside the US.
Cantor Equity Partners announces merger with Bitcoin Standard Treasury
The SPAC Cantor Equity Partners (CEP) announces its merger with Bitcoin Standard Treasury, the vehicle led by Adam Back. The deal is designed to reach the market with one of the largest Bitcoin treasuries from its very first day of trading.
Strategy passes 600,000 BTC — ~2.8% of circulating supply
Saylor's company crosses the 600,000 BTC threshold. For the first time, a single company concentrates roughly 2.8% of Bitcoin's circulating supply, reinforcing the scarcity narrative around the asset.
Bullish Exchange adds 24,000 BTC to its balance sheet
Following its IPO, Bullish executes an aggressive purchase and places more than 24,000 BTC on its balance sheet. The move confirms that listed exchanges are starting to compete with pure treasury companies for Bitcoin-oriented capital.
Bitcoin tops $120,000 — new post-halving cycle ATH
With the combination of ETF inflows, corporate accumulation and a favorable macro cycle, Bitcoin tops $120,000 for the first time. Listed treasuries see their NAV revalued and mNAV premiums expand.
Bitcoin Standard Treasury starts trading after the SPAC merger
The merger between Cantor Equity Partners and Bitcoin Standard Treasury is completed. BST debuts on the stock market with one of the world's largest Bitcoin treasuries already on its balance sheet, becoming one of the vehicles most closely watched by the institutional market.
Corporate treasuries cross 1,000,000 BTC combined
The total Bitcoin held by listed companies tops one million BTC for the first time. What began with MicroStrategy's 21,454 BTC in 2020 becomes, five years later, one of the largest categories of structural demand for the asset.
Strategy >766,000 BTC · global total tops 1.22M
Strategy extends its lead past 766,000 BTC, while the total BTC held by corporate treasuries approaches 1.23 million. The treasury model has become a structural component of Bitcoin's capital markets.
The next chapter is being written right now. Bitcoin keeps accumulating on corporate balance sheets around the world.