This week's most memorable moments

Author

Bitcoin History
July 22, 2024

Greetings, 

Rizzo, the Bitcoin Historian here, back with the top 5 Bitcoin History moments of the week that was. 

This week we recalled a comedic congressional debate, remember Joe Biden’s first Bitcoin tweet, and revisited a 400,000% fumble.

Let’s dig in.

$7,400 l Bitcoin vs. Shitcoins in Congress

It’s still maybe the wildest 2 minutes in crypto congressional history.

Back in 2018, Warren Davidson, the Republican representative from Ohio pressed Meltem Demirors, Chief Strategy Officer for CoinShares, to elaborate on the differences between the oldest crypto network in the industry, Bitcoin, and what he colloquially called “shitcoins.”

Demirors eloquently explained how Bitcoin had endured (at the time) 10 years of attacks, both social and computational, and explained why continues to thrive. “This network, this protocol, and this open source governance has withstood that test,” she said. 

It remains an essential share for those struggling to understand the difference.

$14 l So long Tom

The date was July 15, 2011. Bitcoin’s price had “stabilized” around $14. But one user had had enough. Watching the Bitcoin charts range in the teens was just too boring. So were the 400,000% gains.

Since Thomas Randolph posted his impatience on Twitter 13 years ago, millions have probably bought and sold. Few, however, missed as good of a trade as Randolf.

Let his tale be one of caution, and a slap on the wrist to the paper hands out there.

$7,400 l John McAfee bets his own dick

John McAfee was a wild man. 

Known for having invented one of the most important antivirus software programs in the age of electronics, he was also known for his outlandish antics. Women, booze, guns, and everything in between.

The man liked to have a good time. And, being the computer entrepreneur he was, it seemed only natural he would gravitate towards Bitcoin – and crypto in general. Still, there are other reasons he’s liable to show up in your crypto Twitter feed to this day.

Exactly 7 years ago this week, let’s just say John made a bet most men would gasp at. He said he would eat his own dick if 1 BTC didn’t hit $500,000 by the end of 2020. Thankfully, he never held up his end of the bet.

$10,000 l Sleepy Joe says no to Bitcoin

In recent months Joe Biden and the Democrats have had to reverse their stance on crypto, yet this post reminds us of where it all began.

Four years ago, on July 16, 2020, Biden posted that he doesn’t have Bitcoin and he’ll never ask you to send any. Yes, the context was a bit different. Here he was responding to high-profile Twitter hacks that saw a number of big-name celebrities snared in a Bitcoin swindle.

Still, it’s hard to think of a tweet that better sums up his stance on Bitcoin and crypto, and what will no doubt be a big part of his legacy: supporting the unequivocal enemy of all things crypto: Gary Gensler.

Biden has been relentless in its unsuccessful attempts at reining in the industry, and trying to put a plug on innovation. It took Trump’s endorsement of Bitcoin, and the electoral consequences that could’ve meant for Biden, for the incumbent to re-think his position.

Yesterday Biden ended his pursuit of a second presidential term. May whoever come next be more open-minded than Joe.

$13 l Epic quotes from when Bitcoin was under $30

Lastly, I published this thread reminiscing on 14 epic quotes from the time when Bitcoin was a mere $30 or less.

What’s more, all of these epic quotes come from one man, Erik Voorhees. 

Erik was ahead of his time, posting about liberty and Bitcoin’s role in ensuring it for any and everyone, a true pioneer of the space. "I'm of the opinion that Bitcoin should be used as much as possible. It should be the monetary system of the world," he wrote way back in 2013. 

Today, it’s amazing to see world leaders start considering that reality.

Extra posts:

See you all on Friday,

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