The Biggest Bitcoin Stories of 2021

2021 is just about to leave us, so let’s look back at some of the biggest bitcoin stories to occur over the past 12 months.

Bitcoin and Its Price

The bitcoin price has come quite far in 2021. While the currency has slid down somewhat and is presently trading for just over $51,000, the currency shot up to a new high of approximately $68,000 per unit as recently as November. The asset has managed to retain a five-figure price throughout the year, despite facing heavy opposition from forces like Elon Musk and China, and things have never looked better. Many are predicting that the currency could reach $100,000 at some point in 2022.

El Salvador Loves Bitcoin

The nation of El Salvador became the first in the world to declare bitcoin legal tender. The currency had never reached such a pinnacle before, but now Salvadorians can use BTC along with the U.S. dollar – which the nation has long been dependent on – to pay for goods and services, and businesses are required to accept the asset as a form of payment. The road has been somewhat rocky due to technical problems and disregard from the World Bank, but El Salvador has pressed forward, and it appears the country is well on its way towards fully implementing its BTC agenda.

China Hates It

As mentioned above, China proved to be something of a serious enemy of bitcoin throughout 2021. For example, the country – which housed roughly 65 to 75 percent of the globe’s bitcoin and crypto mining projects – suddenly decided in the summer that all crypto mining was illegal, forcing many project owners to either jump ship, shut down, or find somewhere else to run their operations. From there, things escalated into bitcoin and crypto transactions being banned, and thus all cryptocurrency activity in China is now practically non-existent. At one point, China was among the most powerful bitcoin havens, but it seems that industry has all but disappeared in the region.

Pro Shares and its BTC-based ETF

Pro Shares saw the unveiling of the U.S.’s first-ever bitcoin-based exchange-traded fund. The product has been in the minds of bitcoin fans for many years, but it has never been permitted due to skepticism from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). However, Pro Shares saw the first product of its kind trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), and the tool has grown in popularity.

However, the product has faced some criticism in the sense that it is not based on actual, physical bitcoins, but rather on futures technology, which some analysts believe is inferior to the real thing. Many are hopeful that 2022 will be the year in which bitcoin spot trading is permitted and that the SEC recognizes the growing demand for a legitimate ETF supported by BTC.

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