CFTC Chairman Shares Humorous Early Bitcoin Trade as BTC Turns 17

The crypto community is buzzing with the celebration of Bitcoin’s 17th birthday, and CFTC’s acting chairman, Caroline D. Pham, has joined in, sharing memories of her early Bitcoin trades.

On Sunday, Jan. 4, Caroline D. Pham took to X to share old screenshots from Coinbase, showing some of her first major crypto transactions with the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, Bitcoin.

1,100% BTC gains missed

The data showcased in the Coinbase screenshots shows that the CFTC chairman had purchased BTC on Feb. 5, 2018, at $7,395.81 and later sold on June 25, 2019, at $11,193.72.

While the memory portrays Caroline D. Pham as one of Bitcoin’s early traders, it appears that the chairman did not apply the HODL rule long enough, causing her to miss out on gains that could have soared by over 1,100% at Bitcoin’s 17th birthday.

At the time of the transactions, the sale likely felt like a responsible and profitable move, however, it appears humorous years later as Bitcoin has seen over 10x growth over the seven-year period.

With Bitcoin now trading at around $91,000 at its 17th birthday, it has surged by over 810% since Q2, 2019, when Caroline D. Pham made the huge Bitcoin sale.

Bitcoin turns 17

Bitcoin has turned 17 on Jan. 3, 2026, and the global crypto space has continued to celebrate this milestone as it marks nearly two decades since the invention of the blockchain technology when the Bitcoin genesis block was released in 2009.

While the use of Bitcoin had only started as a small experiment in decentralized digital finance, its evolution into a multi-trillion dollar digital asset has become very significant to its users.

Over the years, Bitcoin has continued to grow, gaining mainstream appeal and mass adoption across the global space.