Crypto History up to 2022
2008-2011 Early Stage
A person named Satoshi Nakamoto started the Bitcoin network. In the very early days, it traded for a few cents. By 2012 it was trading for tens of dollars, and at that time there was no way to trade it except through P2P trades and mining. Then Mt. Gox appeared. Mt. Gox was a game card exchange before it became a Bitcoin exchange.
- _p.090110 비트코인 네트워크의 시작
2012-2015 Hacking Cycle
By 2012, Mt. Gox was a growing Bitcoin exchange, and several cryptocurrency exchanges, wallets, and tools appeared, including Coinbase, CoinMarketCap, and the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust.
Websites like Silk Road created markets where Bitcoin could be exchanged for other goods. But the importance of managing Bitcoin assets was absent, and over 1 million Bitcoins were stolen or lost, including the 850,000 from Mt. Gox.
Afterwards, the U.S. held Bitcoin hearings and China banned Bitcoin, prices fell, and many people left. During this downturn, the greatest project was born: Ethereum. Ethereum introduced smart contracts, which would become the core of the digital economy. The ability to program on a decentralized blockchain was a new cycle of innovation.
- _p.130101 비트코인 100달러 돌파
2016-2019 ICO Cycle
During this period, Ethereum continued to offer more programmability to cryptocurrencies. In particular, ICO gained enormous popularity both as fundraising tools and as vehicles for scams like scam tokens. Countless unfulfilled ICO projects ultimately harmed many small investors, and in July 2017 the SEC ruled that tokens are securities, fueling the regulation that continues to this day.
Starting in October 2017, due to tightening policies and trade disputes, the cryptocurrency market cap fell from $700B in January 2018 to $105B in early 2019. Some of the protocols born during this period became core components of today's DeFi ecosystem. For example, Uniswap created a decentralized exchange that was more efficient than anything previously possible, and many depositors could earn interest through smart contracts. These protocols became the foundation of the DeFi summer of 2020.
2020~2022 Deleveraging Cycle
The launch of Bitcoin futures on the CME and the quantitative easing caused by the COVID-19 pandemic brought enormous amounts of capital into the cryptocurrency market, and DeFi protocols began to use these inflows to build leverage. As everyone rushed to leverage, crypto prices kept rising, and competition among DeFi protocols led to ever higher interest-rate competition. At one point, Luna's Anchor Protocol offered interest rates approaching 20%, and in 2021 Bitcoin peaked at $68,990.
However, with the start of the Fed's Inflation suppression policy in early 2020, the Stablecoin collapse known as the Luna scandal occurred, and the resulting credit crunch in the market successively drove 3AC to bankruptcy. In addition, Voyager Digital and BlockFi, which had lent to 3AC, collapsed one after another, and this was called the crypto version of the The Subprime Mortgage Crisis. Eventually, in November, FTX, the world's third-largest exchange, went bankrupt after a bank run broke out when it misappropriated customer funds to cover losses at its subsidiary.
Related posts
Ace Bed Company Analysis
Ace Bed is a premium bed brand focused on the domestic market, with a very stable financial structure and debt-free management, maintaining a high dividend yield (5.71%). ROE is decent, but capital efficiency is low due to excessive cash holdings. The owner family's stake exceeds 80%, and maintaining the listing appears to be largely for management succession. Short-term surges are difficult, but long-term investment appeal still exists.
The High-Dividend Trap
'High-dividend' stocks are not always a good choice. A high dividend payout ratio means lower long-term growth, and receiving dividends every year eliminates the tax deferral effect. Caution is needed because the dividend may not be sustainable or the company may have low growth potential.
Is Trump Really a Successful Businessman President? (Feat. 6 Bankruptcies)
Trump has packaged himself as a successful businessman, but in reality he has experienced six bankruptcies, and most of his assets were inherited from his father. He repeatedly faced crises through excessive leverage and reckless investments, and in 2024 faced yet another crisis due to inflating his assets.