May 22 (UPI) -- The value of the online currency bitcoin has soared to record heights this year under the new U.S.Bitcoin prices rose above $2,000 over the weekend and went even higher Monday."Bitcoin has gone insane in the insane world it was made for," analyst Ross Gerber said Monday."Global leadership chaos pushes price to $2183."In 2017 so far, the value of bitcoin has increased 125 percent.In January, it topped the $1,000 mark and by midday Monday its value was $2,251.Analysts noted that the online currency also has been resistant to market volatility.In recent weeks as the major domestic markets fluctuated with political shifts, bitcoin has remained steady.Introduced in 2009, bitcoin has become a major form of online payment.In fact, CNBC noted, if you'd have purchased $100 worth of bitcoin in 2010, it would be worth nearly $73 million today.Monday's milestone happened to fall exactly seven years to the day since Bitcoin Pizza Day, which is widely considered the first transaction with the currency -- when a man spent 10,000 bitcoin on two pizzas.

The amount he spent on the pizzas would today be worth $22.5 million.Today cryptocurrency enthusiasts around the world are celebrating the notorious “Bitcoin Pizza Day” where two Papa John’s pizzas were purchased for 10,000 BTC.Not only is the transaction deemed the first bitcoin exchange for real-world value, the trade is now appraised at US$20 million at today’s exchange rates.‘I Like Having Leftover Pizza to Nibble On Later’ .The trade Hanyecz made that day is widely celebrated every year by bitcoiners as it is considered the first real-world transaction using bitcoin as a medium of exchange.“I’ll pay 10,000 bitcoins for a couple of pizzas.. like maybe two large ones, so I have some leftover for the next day — I like having leftover pizza to nibble on later,” explained Hanyecz.You can make the pizza yourself and bring it to my house or order it for me from a delivery place, but what I’m aiming for is getting food delivered in exchange for bitcoins where I don’t have to order or prepare it myself, kind of like ordering a ‘breakfast platter’ at a hotel or something, they just bring you something to eat and you’re happy!

It Took Two Days for Someone to Accept the 10,000 BTC for Pizza Offer After Hanyecz had published his post, a few bitcoin enthusiasts talked about making the trade with him.A couple of people contemplated a few ways they could get the pizza to Hanyecz who was living in Florida at the time.A whole day passed, and Hanyecz writes “So nobody wants to buy me a pizza?bitcoin to inr price chart— Is the bitcoin amount I’m offering too low?” I just think it would be interesting if I could say that I paid for a pizza in bitcoins Another 24 hours later Hanyecz announces that a successful transaction was made thanks to a user named “Jercos.” “I just want to report that I successfully traded 10,000 bitcoins for pizza,” the developer tells people on the thread.bitcoin ban countriesA few commenters thought it was great the exchange happened and congratulated Hanyecz that day.ajouter bitcoin

The 73-page thread discussion has been kept alive for years, with people commenting on how expensive the pizzas became as time had passed.‘It Wasn’t Like Bitcoins Had Value Back Then’ Years later the transaction is considered one of the greatest moments in Bitcoin history and the two pizzas purchased for $25 USD is now worth over $20 million.bitcoin mining profit calculatorHanyecz did an interview with the New York Times a few years later reminiscing about the infamous day.bitcoin rig sale“It wasn’t like Bitcoins had any value back then, so the idea of trading them for a pizza was incredibly cool,” Hanyecz told the publication.move bitcoin to paypalToday as bitcoiners celebrate Bitcoin Pizza Day they’ll always wonder how those pizza’s tasted and whether or not Hanyecz really doesn’t regret eating the most expensive pizzas sold on the planet.

As long as the pizza didn’t have weird toppings like fish, Hanyecz was pleased with his decision to offer 10,000 BTC for two pies.“I like things like onions, peppers, sausage, mushrooms, tomatoes, pepperoni, etc.. just standard stuff no weird fish topping or anything like that.I also like regular cheese pizzas which may be cheaper to prepare or otherwise acquire,” Hanyecz said at the time.Celebrating This Year’s Festivities There will be a lot of people enjoying Bitcoin Pizza Day in 2017 as the decentralized currency is more popular than ever before.There are businesses such as the Bitcoin Store featuring specialty pizza-themed goods, and some merchants are offering discounts like the artist Satoshi Gallery.Additionally, the German-based bitcoin banking startup Bitwala recently started a campaign so the cryptocurrency community can donate pizza slices using bitcoin to refugee kids in Berlin.All the proceeds will go to Champions Ohne Grenzen, a Berlin-based NGO that works with children.

Every week they hold football training sessions with qualified coaches to empower kids and help them overcome trauma.People from all around the world sent in their donations and the money received will help provide more than 100 slices to the refugee children.“The fact that someone halfway around the world can have pizza delivered to war fleeing refugees without having to enter credit card info is a great and humane way to explain the power of bitcoin,” explained Bitwala’s CEO Jörg von Minckwitz.What do you think about the two pizzas sold for 10,000 BTC?Would you have regretted this decision now?Let us know what you think in the comments below.The very first block of the blockchain, Bitcoin’s Genesis Block, was mined by Satoshi on January 3rd, 2009.In the eight years since, bitcoin has grown from a valueless libertarian fantasy to crossing the US$1,000 line on Jan 1st.Since that time, bitcoin’s price has tested its’ new floor several times and mostly stayed above it, using the round-numbered level as a solid platform to build on.

In Bitcoin’s entire existence it had only been worth more than $1,000 for a grand total of nine days prior to this year according to Bitstamp, or 12 days on MtGox, where users were never able to withdraw any of those gains.The price of bitcoin was in a very steeply-climbing speculative bubble last time, which had the price rising faster than $100 per day, several days in a row.Although the price has risen quickly this time around, the chart looks very different.The recent rise also coincides with increased volumes at exchanges around the world.The chart below shows that USD volume picked up in October, while many other currencies from around the world have also had growing volumes.Bitcoin investor Barry Silbert set twitter ablaze when he described bitcoin’s global monthly volumes on Saturday: “Best part of having invested in 19 bitcoin exchanges around the world is we get to see their monthly volumes... Folks, it is happening” Very rarely has slow, organic growth resulted in a large percentage increase in bitcoin’s price.

Over most of the nascent currencies eight-year history bitcoin has grown in speculative bubbles, with values jumping anywhere from eight to thirty times in a very short period of time.So far, bitcoin has had four of these bubbles.The first was in 2010, on the short-lived low-tech exchange called The Bitcoin Market.Just a few months after the famous “Pizza day,” when bitcoin was first traded for money, Bitcoin Market was just starting to make daily trades.Some of the earliest bitcoiners posted about the pizza event, and about bitcoin’s latest version upgrade on popular developer hangout SlashDot.The resulting flood of new bitcoiners the next day drove bitcoin’s price up from eight-tenths of a cent to eight whole cents in one day.The 10x bubble popped over the next few days and settled around six cents, soon after MtGox started allowing trading on their prettier, real-time exchange.The next bubble happened the following summer, on June 8, 2011, and followed bitcoin’s first mainstream article, published by Wired Magazine, about the opening of the Silk Road marketplace.

Dubbed The Great Bubble of 2011, the price frenzy saw MtGox’s price quickly pass US dollar parity, reaching a new high of US$31.91.A quick drop-off led to further declines and over the next few months bitcoin lost 93 percent of the hype-inflated value.2012 came and passed with very little growth, but 2013 was action-packed.The events started in March, when the US Financial Crimes Enforcement Network issued Bitcoin’s first official US guidance.Throughout much of March and April, the Cyprus haircut led news headlines.Speculation on this and other news drove the price of bitcoin to $266 on April 10 2013, a new high that seemed like vindication to bitcoiners for a few short days.Unfortunately, once again, the speculation-driven bull run on MtGox soon lost steam and crashed to around $100.The world wouldn’t have to wait long for its next bubble.MtGox’s CEO Mark Karpeles was allegedly using a pair of trading bots to fake volume at his exchange.The volume attracted the investors and global speculation had gone into overdrive by November.

The price of a bitcoin very quickly went from $200 to over a thousand.Many bitcoiners were already dreaming of mainstream adoption, but again, all of the value was speculation.Bitcoin’s all-time high occurred on November 28, 2013, when MtGox listed each bitcoin for $1,242.At Bitstamp, BitFinex, and other exchanges, the price was a bit lower, but still peaked above $1,100.MtGox then collapsed, and most of their customer’s funds were stolen.The entire year of 2014 was then a slow downhill trip.Volumes picked up throughout most of the year, while the price dove from the lofty highs in early January down to $207 on Bitstamp a year later on January 15, 2015.BTC China, the oldest bitcoin exchange still in service today, was the source of the majority of bitcoin’s volume starting around the top of the last peak.Fast forward three years and BTC China is still a leader in global bitcoin sales volumes, often moving over two million bitcoins a day.CEO Bobbie Lee often attributes the price of bitcoin going up with his countryman’s dissatisfaction with the Chinese Yuan depreciation, an occurrence that has happened more than a few times recently.

“The investment spree is well-founded because of the rarity of bitcoins,” BTCC’s CEO, Bobbie Lee told the South China Morning Post.“The increasing need for hedging against the yuan’s depreciation and the central banks’ continued printing of money have convinced investors’ of the bitcoin’s investment value.” Coincidentally, the Yuan’s value has been steadily falling against the dollar since January 2014, when bitcoin fell off of its’ peak.Today’s global market volumes flow very differently than they did in Bitcoin’s humble beginnings.Both the Bitcoin Market and MtGox were US Dollar-denominated exchanges, despite MtGox being located in Japan.China overtook the USD during the last price peak, and in May of this year, Japan sprinted past the dollar as well, cementing 95 to 98 percent of bitcoin’s daily trading volume in Asia.Following behind the dollar is the Euro, the Korean Won, and the Russian Ruble.Several recent growth markets don’t even make the top ten chart, such as India, which despite their recent demonetization problems only ranks 13th.