Home / Year by year / 2021

2021 New highs, and a country adopts Bitcoin

Bitcoin more than doubled early in the year, hit about $69,000 in November and became legal tender in El Salvador. It was also a year of whiplash, from Tesla’s purchase and reversal to China’s crackdown on mining and trading.

Year-end price (approx.)

~$46,300

Block reward

6.25 BTC

All-time high

~$69,000 (Nov 10)

What happened

1. Feb 8

   Tesla discloses a $1.5 billion Bitcoin purchase. In May it suspends accepting Bitcoin for car purchases, citing the environmental impact of mining.

2. Apr 14

   Coinbase lists on Nasdaq through a direct listing.

3. Jun 9

   El Salvador’s Congress approves a law making Bitcoin legal tender. It takes effect on September 7.

4. Sep 24

   China’s central bank declares cryptocurrency transactions illegal, after a spring and summer crackdown that sends miners abroad.

5. Oct 19

   The first US Bitcoin futures ETF, ProShares’ BITO, begins trading.

6. Nov 10

   Bitcoin reaches its then all-time high of about $69,000.

7. Nov 14

   Taproot activates, the most significant protocol upgrade since SegWit.

Why it mattered

Futures ETFs, a national legal-tender law and Taproot all landed in the same year: Bitcoin was now an asset, a currency in one jurisdiction and a still-evolving protocol.

Price by month

Bitcoin price on the first day of each month, in US dollars, with the change from the previous month.

• Jan$29,374+56%
• Feb$33,537+14%
• Mar$49,631+48%
• Apr$59,096+19%
• May$57,828−2%
• Jun$36,685−37%
• Jul$33,572−8%
• Aug$39,975+19%
• Sep$48,847+22%
• Oct$48,117−1%
• Nov$61,004+27%
• Dec$57,230−6%

See all years and months →

Browse every year