On this day, Bitcoin was worth $1: You'd be a millionaire now if you had trusted Satoshi.

Bitcoin's arrival at $1 more than a decade ago marked the beginning of a new financial era.

Today marks 15 years since Bitcoin reached parity with the US dollar, an event that occurred on February 10th 2011, which marked the beginning of a new global financial architecture. 

Since then, cryptocurrency has gone from being a cryptographic experiment to consolidating itself as a global reserve asset, leading the exchange-traded fund market and registering an unprecedented appreciation that has transformed the custody of value on an international scale.

Bitcoin and the consolidation of a new financial order

Since February 10, 2011, Bitcoin's journey has been a story of constant evolution within the financial universe. Its value has followed an upward trend driven by waves of retail interest and, subsequently, institutional and sovereign interest, as well as by an increasingly solid and robust digital infrastructure. 

In October 2025, the price of Bitcoin reached $126.000 per unitThis point confirmed its status as the most profitable asset worldwide over the past ten years. This progress has been driven by a more mature technical environment and by demand that far exceeds the number of new coins issued in a controlled manner on the blockchain network. 

The development of the Bitcoin market has also been reflected in the cryptocurrency's integration into the exchange-traded fund (ETF) sector. The approval of these financial instruments in the world's major markets has opened the door to institutional capital, which can now participate under clearer and more stable regulatory frameworks. Increased market depth and the dynamism of derivatives have contributed to greater price stability. Therefore, although it was once considered a volatile and uncertain digital currency relative to the dollar, it has now become an asset backed by a more mature financial structure. Furthermore, its integration into traditional investment platforms has allowed both individual users and companies to access the ecosystem without the complications of the early years.

Currently, Bitcoin's valuation is on par with the major competitors in the financial world, vying with the largest corporations in terms of market capitalization. Analyses agree that its digital scarcity, definitively limited to 21 million unitsThis is the key behind its sustained growth against national currencies, which continue to face erosion from inflation and loss of purchasing power.

From private hands to governments: Bitcoin redefined stores of value

The Bitcoin adoption landscape has also scaled since its inception, expanding from individual users to sovereign entities and public corporations. 

Today, hundreds of publicly traded companies on exchanges like the NASDAQ and the New York Stock Exchange have integrated Bitcoin into their investment strategies, using it as a treasury reserve asset to protect their balance sheets against inflation. This trend has been replicated by private companies seeking to diversify their cash surpluses into an asset uncorrelated with traditional debt cycles.

At the state level, the sovereign adoption of Bitcoin has also ceased to be a case study and has become a geopolitical reality. El SalvadorThe pioneer in granting legal tender status to cryptocurrency has seen its accumulation strategy strengthen its financial position. Nations such as [names of nations] have also adopted this model. Bhutan, which operates cryptominers and, more recently, United Stateswhose president-elect has ordered the inclusion of digital assets in its strategic reserves through an executive order signed in March 2025. This validation by sovereign governments gives Bitcoin a layer of institutional legitimacy which reinforces its long-term permanence in the financial system.

The entry of these large-scale players has generated constant buying pressure in the spot market. Sovereign treasuries operate with time horizons of decades, which reduces the circulating supply available on exchanges and contributes to an increasingly high base price structure. This paradigm shift suggests that Bitcoin's function as a store of value is accepted by the most influential economic power structures on the planet.

Bitcoin today: a stronger network in times of inflation

To quantify the extent of Bitcoin's appreciation since it first equaled the value of the dollar 15 years ago, we can look at how a hypothetical investment made in 2011 would perform. 

For example, if you had bought $100 worth of Bitcoin when each unit of the cryptocurrency cost one dollar, you would have had 100 BTC coins back then. Assuming you hadn't sold them yet, with the current price near $70.000, that same investment would be worth approximately $7 million today. This leap reflects one of the largest increases in wealth recorded in the modern era of finance.

Although these figures seem insurmountable, various capital analyses suggest that appreciation potential remains. The development of the Lightning Network and advancements in the protocol's capabilities continue to drive adoption, attracting users and businesses that believe in the principles underpinning Bitcoin, including decentralization and the transparency of its technology. Furthermore, the emergence of new financial products and regulatory progress in key economies offer investors a more stable and predictable environment, increasing interest and confidence.

Similarly, the Bitcoin ecosystem shows constant evolution, with a solid hash rate that reinforces transaction security and confidence in the design conceived by Satoshi Nakamoto. 

In a context where traditional currencies remain vulnerable to massive issuance and inflation, Bitcoin's fixed supply limit and disruptive design give it a clear advantage over systems based on unlimited issuance. Therefore, Bitcoin, more than a speculative investment, has become a tool that combines technology, independence, and a safeguard of purchasing power.