The brief history of time might have needed a mind like Professor Hawking, yet it doesn't need a genius to look back at the fascinating turn of events the short stay of crypto assets has accumulated and Bitcoin specifically. There have been some captivating stories that seem to emerge around this time of the year. Some were false dawns while others are stories of heartbreak. Yet the common theme was the indomitable will of the community who has faith in this technology.

2018, A Hacker Returned $17M Of ETH To Coindash:

An anonymous hacker had, after months of silence, in an apparent change of heart, returned a total of 30,000 ETH to CoinDash. The hacker was never tracked down but the coins were taken in 2017 when the coins were actually worth less than when they were returned. So the company did not have too much to complain about, in the end.

2017. BTC Price Overtook 1 Oz Of Gold:

This was the first time the market players saw Bitcoin as a serious investment option. On this day, two years ago, the per-ounce spot price for gold was $1,237.73 and the price of Bitcoin was at $1,238.11.

2016. Banks Began Testing On Ethereum And Hyperledger:

Hearing about the possibilities offered by the blockchain some of the worlds largest banks began to seriously consider the practicability of incorporating the fledging tech into their business. Banks such as HSBC and Citi were testing systems for trading to assess viability. This marked a major milestone for the exploration of blockchain technology to be used in collaboration with the financial markets.

2015. Augur Project Announced ETH Based Prediction Markets:

Mixing gambling and higher ideals, the project, that finally got its full release last year, was kick-started in 2015. The idea of prediction market was not an instant hit and the project founders had to work really hard to get funding for their decentralized public ledger that could tap into the collective forecasting power of a global user base.

2014. The Fall Of Mt Gox:

Today, Mt. Gox is a footnote but once upon a time it was a beacon of strength. At one time the biggest cryptocurrency exchange slowly started to capitulate and soon found itself bankrupt. Mt. Gox [Magic The Gathering Online eXchange] had been repeatedly hacked and lost 750,000 of its customers' Bitcoins, as well as 100,000 of its own Bitcoins. A loss that amounted to around $500 million at the time.

2013. Bitcoin Reached Its All-Time High:

After years of near anonymity, Bitcoin was finally sitting at the big boy's table. The coin saw an extraordinary climb that saw its price double in a short time. The month started in the $30 region but saw erratic market pricing, that would always end in a rise; so much so that the month ended with prices hovering around the $90 mark.