Historical Importance of March 31 for cryptocurrencies
- Looking back at the history of cryptocurrencies, it is apparent that March 31 has been a significant date.
- Bitcoin reaching $1 billion market capitalization, Microsoft adopting Ethereum in Windows, all took place on this day.
March 31 has always been a historically important day for cryptocurrencies. Following is a year-by-year account of the events of March 31 from 2013-2018.
March 31, 2013: $1 billion market cap breached
Bitcoin’s market cap exceeded $1 billion for the first time on March 31, 2013. The fact that Bitcoin’s current market cap is near $73 billion is a testament to its growth potential.
March 31, 2014: Bitcoin labeled a commodity by U.S. Internal Revenue Service
The United States’ tax authority, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) termed Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies as commodities, same as Gold or Silver, and clearly stated that it is not to be considered as a currency. The IRS stated:
“General tax principles that apply to property transactions apply to transactions using virtual currency.”
This announcement cleared the way for cryptocurrencies to be integrated into the legal financial system.
March 31, 2015: Law Enforcement Agents Caught Stealing Bitcoin
Agents from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Secret Service were caught stealing Bitcoins during an undercover investigation of the Silk Road. The reason why this was important is because it ignited a curiosity among common folks as to the potential of Bitcoin.
March 31, 2016: Ethereum integrated to Microsoft’s Visual Studio Platform
Software giant Microsoft announced a partnership with ConsenSys to enable its developers to build, test and deploy decentralized applications, or dapps, within the Microsoft Visual Studio Platform. The importance of this partnership was that it was the first major collaboration between a leading industry giant and a crypto platform.
The partnership gave Microsoft a place in the blockchain industry and provided ConsenSys and, by extension, the crypto space, some much-needed credibility.
March 31, 2017: Bitcoin recognized as a payment method in Japan
Japan’s Accounting Standards Board announced that it will create a framework to accept Bitcoin as a legal payment method in the country. This was extremely important as it marked the start of government recognition of the sector.
March 31, 2018: Twitter bans Crypto Ads
Twitter, one of the most popular social media platforms, banned cryptocurrency ads on March 31, 2018. The spammy nature of the content and ICO fraud had already caused Facebook and Google to ban ads related to cryptocurrencies.
Author
Rajarshi Mitra
Independent Analyst
Rajarshi entered the blockchain space in 2016. He is a blockchain researcher who has worked for Blockgeeks and has done research work for several ICOs. He gets regularly invited to give talks on the blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies.
