Bitcoin has reached a significant milestone by processing over one billion transactions since its inception. The landmark transaction, numbered 1,000,000,000, was recorded on May 5, as reported by Clark Moody Bitcoin. It was included in block 842,241, marking a pivotal moment for the cryptocurrency.
This achievement comes 15 years after the Bitcoin network went live on January 3, 2009, taking a total of 5,602 days or roughly 800 weeks to reach this milestone. Throughout its journey, the blockchain has seen an average of 178,507 transactions per day.
2024 has proven to be a critical year for Bitcoin. In January, spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) were approved in the United States, followed by similar product launches in Hong Kong, marking a significant milestone in Asia.
In April, Bitcoin underwent its fourth halving, reducing mining rewards from 6.25 BTC per block to 3.125 BTC. This event, coupled with the growing popularity of Bitcoin ETFs and market anticipation, led to Bitcoin reaching its all-time high on March 24, 2024, with a trading price of $73,737.94, according to CoinGecko.
However, over the past 30 days, Bitcoin has experienced notable fluctuations. After trading above $70,000, it entered a bearish period, dipping below $60,000 before rebounding. Currently, it is trading at $64,222, marking a 1.2% increase within the past 24 hours.
In other news, Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust ETF (GBTC) recorded its first day of net positive inflows in 78 days on May 3, with $63 million in inflows, according to preliminary data from Farside. Franklin Templeton’s ETF saw a record inflow of $60.9 million, while Fidelity’s Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund topped the chart with inflows of $102.6 million. Bitwise and Invesco Galaxy followed with $33.5 million and $33.2 million inflows, respectively.