When Bitcoin Hit $100: CNBC's 2013 Coverage
Less than two years after it had been trading under $1, Bitcoin surged to more than $100 in the spring of 2013. CNBC's panel discussed the risks and benefits of the cryptocurrency, its comparisons to gold, and whether or not the run up was a bubble.
Ten years ago, as Lehman Brothers was declaring bankruptcy and the global economy was lurching into recession, the idea for an alternative currency was being quietly built online.
On Oct. 31, 2008, bitcoin was born — and in the past 10 years it has evolved from an anti-establishment hobby among coders to a household name on Wall Street.
The first and most famous digital currency sparked mania among retail investors last year, and, despite being founded to bypass them, it has caught the attention of some of the world's most powerful institutions.