Era 06 · 2009 — Ongoing

Crypto

Lag

16 years and counting

Pulse cycle

4.5s

Bitcoin launched in January 2009. As of 2026, the United States still has no comprehensive federal framework for digital assets — only a fragmented enforcement regime spanning the SEC, CFTC, Treasury, and a dozen state regulators. Billions have been lost, refunded, or quietly written off in the meantime.

Events in this era

Jan 2009

Bitcoin Genesis Block

On January 3, 2009, the pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamoto mined the Bitcoin genesis block. The coinbase transaction embedded a headline from that day's Times of London: 'Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks.' The whitepaper had been posted to a cryptography mailing list three months earlier, weeks after Lehman's collapse. No central bank, exchange, or regulator was involved. The entire premise was regulatory failure. Sixteen years later the asset class is worth trillions and still lacks a comprehensive US framework.

Launched a $3T+ asset class with no central overseer

2022 — 2024

Luna, FTX, and the Gap

Terra/Luna ($60B) and FTX ($32B) collapsed in the same calendar year. A comprehensive federal crypto framework remained under negotiation. Victims were left to state-by-state enforcement, which cannot deliver uniform recovery.

$90B+ in investor losses across two events

Jan 10, 2024

Spot Bitcoin ETFs approved

The SEC approved 11 spot Bitcoin ETFs on a single day. BlackRock, Fidelity, and others became de facto on-ramps to crypto for regulated investors. Approximately $45 billion flowed into the funds in the first year.

Institutional crypto adoption legally sanctioned

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