The initial exchange rate for Bitcoin, established 15 years ago on October 5, 2009, at the New Liberty Standard Exchange, marked the beginning of the leading cryptocurrency's journey. Bitcoin's price has surged by an astonishing 8,700,000,000% since then, from less than a fraction of a cent to its current value. The exchange rate set by the New Liberty Standard valued Bitcoin at $1 = 1,309.03 BTC, based on the electricity costs needed to mine the cryptocurrency.

The first known Bitcoin-to-USD transaction was made by Finnish computer scientist Martti Malmi, who sold 5,550 BTC for around $5 via PayPal. During Bitcoin's early days, Malmi mined a total of 55,000 BTC but sold most of his holdings in 2012 when the price was under $30 to buy an apartment in Helsinki. He later liquidated the rest when moving to Japan.

Although Malmi expressed regret for not holding onto his Bitcoin, he stated that making money was never his primary motivation. His fortune was an accidental result of helping Satoshi Nakamoto by running a node, allowing others to connect.