Bitcoin beaches one billion transactions milestone

Bitcoin (BTC) — the world’s first and most valuable cryptocurrency — has surpassed one billion processed transactions. This milestone was reached 800 weeks and one day after the launch of Bitcoin on January 3, 2009, with the minting of its genesis block.

The timing of this milestone is particularly exciting for the cryptocurrency, as it has experienced heightened levels of daily transactions over the past year. This increase in activity can be also partly attributed to the emergence of...