Answer ยท confidence: partial
Could you tell if sellers or buyers set a new coin's first dollar price?
Research question: When someone first sold a new coin for dollars, was the price set by the seller or by buyers, and how can a reader tell which one it was?
The records show that the first recorded sale of bitcoin for dollars took place in October 2009, when Martti Malmi traded 5,050 BTC for US$5.02 1. The same record notes that the document does not say whether Malmi or his counterparty set that price 1. A second source dates the sale to October 12, 2009, and names Malmi as the seller of 5,050 bitcoins for $5.02, but it does not describe how the price was agreed 2. These facts therefore cannot show whether the seller or the buyers set the price, so a reader would need a fuller account of the trade to answer that part of the question 12.
Checked 2026-10-22. Only documented and supported facts are used.
Dig deeper on this questionSources
[1] supported
The first recorded sale of bitcoin for dollars was in October 2009, when Finnish software developer Martti Malmi traded 5,050 BTC for US$5.02. The document does not say whether Malmi or his counterparty set that price.
"Things would change in October of that year, however, when Finnish software developer Martti Malmi traded 5,050 BTC for US$5.02."A Short History of the Bitcoin Price - Crypto.com International
[2] supported
The first sale that gave Bitcoin a dollar value was made on October 12, 2009, when Martti Malmi sold 5050 Bitcoins for $5.02.
"The first time Bitcoin actually gained value was on October 12, 2009, when Martti Malmi, a Finnish developer that helped Satoshi work on Bitcoin, sold 5050 Bitcoins for $5.02."Bitcoin Price History Chart + Historical Events 2009-2026
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