Bitcoin 2021 didn’t quite have the bull run everyone expected — blame Plan B. Nonetheless, BTC dominated the crypto news cycle so much so that it was exceedingly difficult to narrow down a top ten.  The following are the top ten stories from Bitcoin’s biggest year yet. Feel free to disagree with our choices in […] The post The Top Ten Bitcoin Stories Of 2021 appeared first on CryptosRus.

The Top Ten Bitcoin Stories Of 2021

Bitcoin 2021 didn’t quite have the bull run everyone expected — blame Plan B. Nonetheless, BTC dominated the crypto news cycle so much so that it was exceedingly difficult to narrow down a top ten. 

The following are the top ten stories from Bitcoin’s biggest year yet. Feel free to disagree with our choices in the comments below. 

Covered:

  • Bitcoin 2021: The Highs, The Lows
  • Elon Musk: The Good And The Bad
  • China: The Bad
  • El Salvador: The Transcendent
  • ETF Mania
  • Taproot Upgrade

Bitcoin 2021: Year In Review

2021 was truly a breakout year for the entirety of the cryptocurrency market, but especially for Bitcoin. Not only has BTC reached multiple new all-time highs, but the world’s first cryptocurrency also mooned adoption-wise.

More people are using BTC than ever before. Institutions like Goldman Sachs are apeing in, and countries are legitimizing the cryptocurrency through legal frameworks worldwide.2021 was truly a breakout year for the entirety of the cryptocurrency market, but especially for Bitcoin. Not only has BTC reached multiple new all-time highs, but the world’s first cryptocurrency also mooned adoption-wise.

These are the top ten stories that pushed Bitcoin over the edge in 2021.

10. Jack Dorsey Announces Bitcoin DeFi DEX

One of our writers, Nick Rush, broke this story.

Bitcoin has been waiting for a DeFi DEX, and who other than ex-Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey to announce it. Dubbed tbDEX, the announcement promised a lot of things, but didn’t quite give a lot of details of how it would actually work. If it did, this story would have been higher on the list.

Certainly, there is more to come with this story, and if Jack Dorsey can pull it off, Bitcoin will have more reasons to continue looking bullish in 2022.

9. Bitcoin Taproot Upgrade Activated

The first major update to Bitcoin in four years was released in November.

The update brought Schnorr signatures (which adds more privacy features) and improved smart contract functionality to bitcoin. The hope is the update will foster more development on Bitcoin, ala Dorsey’s tbDEX.

Bitcoin has received backlash for its lack of privacy, and the taproot update is a huge leap and potential breakthrough for BTC. Overall, this update makes Bitcoin less computationally expensive and increases privacy.

8. Canada Approves Bitcoin ETF

Canada announced the first publicly traded Bitcoin ETF in North America in February. This served as a catalyst for more crypto ETFs to be released in Canada, including Ethereum ETFs.

Additionally, it put the US behind the curve and probably played a role in the adoption of a futures ETF by the US in October.

Since then, countries like Australia have sought to embrace the Canadian model after witnessing its success.

7. Michael Saylor’s MicroStrategy Buys, Buys, and Buys.

It was hard to pick just one Michael Saylor Bitcoin story. To be honest, the Microstrategy CEO probably warrants his own list.

Over the year, Michael Saylor’s software company (and the CEO himself) accumulated an incredible amount of BTC.

His company bought large sums of Bitcoin throughout the year, including purchases of $414 million and $243 million in cash. The company now holds 122,478 coins, and Saylor continues to trust BTC as a true store of value and digital property.

6. Miami Mayor Takes Salary In Bitcoin

Miami Mayor Francis Suarez accepts his entire salary in Bitcoin. This marks the first time a US politician takes such a huge step towards Bitcoin adoption.

The Mayor’s announcement caused a snowball effect, and several other Mayors in the US announced that they would be accepting at least some of their salary in Bitcoin.

5. Bitcoin Futures ETF Approved By SEC

Finally, the securities and exchange commission (SEC) gave the green light for a BTC futures ETF.  The ETF makes BTC more accessible to investors not as familiar with cryptocurrencies and gives investors a regulated alternative to BTC.

This was a big step forward for bitcoin in the US and is the first instance of bridging the gap between the traditional financial sector and Bitcoin.

4. Tesla Stops Accepting Bitcoin For Vehicle Purchases

In May, Elon Musk announced that Tesla would no longer be accepting BTC as payment for vehicles. Musk noted that this was out of concern over “rapidly increasing use of fossil fuels for bitcoin mining.”

Bitcoin’s price plummeted after the announcement by about ten percent.

3. China Ceases Bitcoin Mining And Puts A Blanket Ban On All Crypto

Bitcoin mining was banned in China back in May of this year, despite China being the worldwide leader of BTC mining before the ban was announced.

Prior to the mining ban, China controlled up to two-thirds of BTC mining worldwide. In September, China continued their fight against decentralized crypto, putting a blanket ban on all cryptocurrencies. This resulted in the US greatly increasing their share of the global BTC hash rate.

This was an undeniably big story, but the effect of China FUD may not be as strong in the following years…

2. El Salvador Becomes The First Country To Make Bitcoin A Legal Tender

On June 8th, President Bukele of El Salvador signs the first bill of any country to make Bitcoin a legal tender.

Bitcoin was adopted alongside El Salvador’s ongoing currency, the US dollar. This means that any citizen can buy a cup of coffee or even pay their taxes in Bitcoin. Thus, El Salvador my act as a poster child for other countries in economic shackles and a true stepping stone for the adoption of Bitcoin.

1. Tesla Buys Bitcoin, Officially Adding BTC To Their Balance Sheet

In February, Elon Musk’s company Tesla bought $1.5 billion worth of Bitcoin for its balance sheet. Not to mention, the world’s most popular EV maker said they would accept Bitcoin as payment. Not only did this announcement send Bitcoin to all-time highs (around $44,200 at the time), but it made Bitcoin a household name in the US.

Musk’s affinity for Bitcoin proved somewhat short-lived, considering he indefinitely paused Bitcoin payments, and embraced Dogecoin all the way to an SNL appearance. Still, you can’t deny the excitement this one announcement brought to the world of crypto, no matter how much you resent Musk now.

This was arguably one of the biggest Bitcoin stories ever, let alone for the year of 2021.

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That’s it. That’s the list. Should the futures ETF be higher? Is El Salvador too high? Let us know what you think below!

The post The Top Ten Bitcoin Stories Of 2021 appeared first on CryptosRus.