The bitcoin white paper turned 18 on 31 October 2026. According to Journal du Coin, the cryptocurrency devised by Satoshi Nakamoto is now worth about 1,600 billion dollars. In Switzerland, bitcoin is used to pay taxes in Zug and Lugano, trades on the SIX Swiss Exchange and is awaiting its first ETF. The Swiss National Bank, for its part, wants none of it in its reserves.

Bitcoin at 18: dated figures

On 31 October 2008, a nine-page text signed Satoshi Nakamoto arrived on a cryptographers' mailing list. Journal du Coin marked the anniversary, on 31 October 2026, with figures mostly as of 28 October. Each one keeps its original date and source here.

IndicatorValueDateSource cited
First estimated price of a bitcoin0.00076 dollarOctober 2009Journal du Coin
Bitcoin priceAbout 80,400 dollars28 October 2026Journal du Coin
All-time high126,080 dollarsOctober 2025Journal du Coin
Bitcoins in circulation20.105 million, or 95.7% of the 21 million planned28 October 2026CoinGecko
Network computing power1.084 zettahashes per second27 October 2026mempool.space
Bitcoins held by companies and states1,932,042 BTC28 October 2026CoinGecko
Bitcoins held by US spot ETFs1.22 million BTC13 July 2026Galaxy Digital

The price on 28 October was still 36% below the record, Journal du Coin notes. To follow its recent swings, our article on the bitcoin price below 82,000 dollars details the role of exchange-traded funds.

What these figures say about the change

Bitcoin still falls, but less sharply than before. Between the October 2025 peak and the 30 June 2026 low, it lost 53%. In previous cycles, the drawdowns had reached 93%, 85%, 84% and then 77%. Alex Thorn, head of research at Galaxy Digital, sees in this, in his note of 26 October 2026, the bear market "the shallowest ever recorded".

The holders have changed in nature. The first block was mined by Satoshi Nakamoto on 3 January 2009, on a desktop computer, according to Journal du Coin. Eighteen years later, companies and states hold nearly 10% of the circulating supply. US spot ETFs sold only 11% of their holdings between 9 October 2025 and 13 July 2026, while the price fell by 53%.

Flows into these funds nevertheless remain volatile. US bitcoin ETFs had accumulated 57.96 billion dollars in net inflows since January 2024, according to SoSoValue as of 21 October 2026, as 2clics reported. Conversely, institutions that report their positions to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the US securities regulator, held only 307,000 BTC of them in June 2026, against 355,000 at the end of September 2025, according to Galaxy.

Money creation, meanwhile, is slowing as the code intended. The miners' reward went from 50 BTC per block in 2009 to 3.125 BTC since April 2024. The next halving, expected around 2028, will bring it down to 1.5625 BTC. The original code is still closely studied: one developer even recompiled Satoshi Nakamoto's client byte for byte.

Bitcoin in Switzerland: taxes payable in Zug and Lugano

The canton of Zug has accepted bitcoin for taxes since February 2021. According to its tax administration's page, individuals and companies taxable in the canton can settle their bill in bitcoin (BTC) or ether (ETH). Since an update on 1 March 2023, the ceiling has been 1.5 million francs per bill.

The City of Lugano goes further on the amount. Its page on cryptocurrencies states that all its bills, including taxes, fees and fines, can be paid with no limit on the amount. It accepts bitcoin, bitcoin on the Lightning Network and the stablecoin USDT (Tether) on Ethereum, for individuals and businesses alike. Payment goes through the bill's QR code, and the City asks people to use only its official page, not a page found through a search engine. The page also links to Lugano's "Plan ₿".

Bitcoin on the Swiss stock exchange: ETPs since 2018, an ETF expected

SIX Swiss Exchange, the Swiss stock exchange in Zurich, has listed crypto products since November 2018. Amun, which became 21Shares, launched the world's first crypto ETP there, according to Journal du Coin as cited by 2clics. An ETP, or exchange traded product, is a debt security on its issuer, backed by bitcoins entrusted to a custodian. Our comparison bitcoin held directly or via an ETP details custody and fees.

On 20 October 2026, the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) took another step. It authorised the first Swiss-law bitcoin ETF open to the public, with an exemption from the risk diversification rules. This fund, the Bitcoin Fund ETF (BBIT), is due to be listed on SIX in November 2026, with no exact date. About 90 banks and brokers participate in the Zurich exchange, as detailed in our article on the Swiss bitcoin ETF BBIT.

FINMA warns that the authorisation does not remove the risk. In its press release of 20 October 2026, it points out that the capital invested can lose a large part of its value, owing to the high volatility of cryptocurrencies.

Why the SNB refuses bitcoin in its reserves

The Swiss National Bank (SNB) closed the door in 2025. In an interview with the Tamedia group, published on 1 March 2025 according to swissinfo.ch, its chairman Martin Schlegel ruled out the idea of placing part of the reserves in bitcoin. He gave three reasons: extreme volatility, a need for highly liquid reserves for monetary policy, and security flaws specific to assets that are "essentially software".

Martin Schlegel spoke at the time of a "niche phenomenon". He put the capitalisation of all cryptocurrencies at about 2,000 billion francs, a modest sum compared with the global financial system. "We are not afraid of competition from cryptocurrencies," he added.

The popular initiative that sought to impose bitcoin on the SNB has failed. Launched in December 2024, it aimed to enshrine gold and bitcoin reserves in the Constitution. According to Reuters, cited by swissinfo.ch on 8 May 2026, its backers gathered only about half of the 100,000 signatures required. "For now, we are dropping the initiative," said its founder, Yves Bennaïm.

What we don't know yet

  • The exact listing date of the BBIT ETF on SIX: it is expected in November 2026, with no specific day.
  • Whether a new bitcoin initiative will emerge: Yves Bennaïm only says he is dropping the text "for now".
  • The answer to the quantum risk: according to Galaxy, 7.1 million BTC sit on addresses whose public key is visible, and BIP 360, a plan to migrate to resistant signatures, remains a proposal. No Google quantum computer or any other had broken a bitcoin key as of 28 October 2026.

This article does not constitute investment advice.

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