Since Satoshi Nakamoto — an individual or group of individuals whose identity is unknown today – created Bitcoin in 2009, the cryptocurrency has grown in popularity throughout the world. In 2020, Google searches for “Bitcoin” were significantly greater than searches for “Ethereum,” with Google Trends indicating that interest was particularly high in non-Western nations, according to Statista. Here we provide the 7 interesting bitcoin facts.
Bitcoin is considered to be the greatest cryptocurrency because it is decentralized and focuses on peer-to-peer transactions. Up to this day, Bitcoin (BTC) remains the world’s largest cryptocurrency with a market capitalization of over $630B, followed by Ethereum (ETH), Tether (USDT), Binance Coin (BNB), and Cardano (ADA).
Bitcoin is used in a wide range of applications. Cryptography, data structures, consensus methods, distributed systems, and even game theory are some of the topics covered. While this may appear to be a lot, technological advancements have made it possible to employ Bitcoin platforms to assist traders. Such Bitcoin trading platforms include Bitcoin Digital, which can also be recommended to those who are still new to Bitcoin trading.
Despite its impressive features and widespread adoption, there are still several Bitcoin facts that the majority of people are unaware of. Here are some interesting facts about Bitcoin to start this article:
Bitcoin has a limited quantity.
When it comes to fiat currency, the government controls the supply since it can print as much as it wants, but bitcoin is different. No one authority issues Bitcoins since they are a decentralised currency. Miners are the ones that produce Bitcoins, and the process is known as Bitcoin mining.
The maximum number of Bitcoins that may ever be mined is twenty-one million, of which 16.3 million have already been mined. By 2140, it is expected that all Bitcoins will have been mined, and no new Bitcoins will be issued on the market.
The Bitcoin founder is still unknown.
Bitcoin’s inventor is one of the most fascinating facts about it. Bitcoin has been around for almost 10 years, yet no one knows who invented it. Many people have claimed to be the owner or originator of Bitcoin, but none of them has provided definitive proof. Satoshi Nakamoto is the moniker associated with Bitcoin’s creator, although no one knows who he is, where he lives, or even if he is alive or not.
Bitcoin was launched into space.
The coin was the first to escape the Earth’s atmosphere and enter space in 2016. Genesis Mining, a cloud mining company, attached a Bitcoin paper wallet and a 3D representation of Bitcoin to a weather balloon and tracked its journey with a GoPro camera. At 20 and 34 kilometres above sea level, successful transactions were completed.
According to the company and its staff, the initiative was created and launched to illustrate Bitcoin’s limitless potential and capacity to execute transactions practically anywhere on the planet, including space.
Bitcoin cannot be banned.
It is not against the law to own or trade Bitcoin. Many governments have attempted and failed to do so, including Bolivia, Vietnam, Bangladesh, and Thailand. The local governments in these countries have sought to prohibit cryptocurrency trade, claiming financial system risks as justification. However, due to the structure of the system, complete prohibition is nearly impossible. Instead, it needs to be regulated.
While Bitcoin trade and mining are prohibited in a few countries, they are nonetheless practised virtually everywhere.
Bitcoin was not the first effort to create peer-to-peer (P2P) digital money.
Many people believe that Bitcoin was the first effort at creating digital money. However, this is not the case. The forerunners to Bitcoin were Wei Dai’s B-Money, Nick Szabo’s Bit Gold, Adam Back’s Hashcash, and David Chaum’s DigiCash. Unfortunately, due to their planned centralised structures, each of those currencies failed to acquire momentum.
Bitcoin transactions are untraceable.
Bitcoin transactions are recorded in a public database known as the blockchain; however, the transaction history cannot be used to track the user.
Bitcoin users can also utilise various services like VPN to disguise their IP address. It provides exceptional privacy to users and lets them conduct transactions anywhere without fear of being monitored or traced. When Bitcoin transactions are recorded on the public blockchain database, no personal or financial information is exposed.
Have you heard of “Bitcoin Pizza Day”? It’s true!
Bitcoin Pizza Day is observed on May 22nd. Did you know about it? Laszlo Hanyecz, a Florida programmer, successfully exchanged 10,000 Bitcoins for two Papa John’s Pizzas on May 22, 2010. That was the very first Bitcoin purchase ever made. 10,000 Bitcoins were valued at about $41 at the time. The value of these 10,000 Bitcoins has increased to more than $64 million.
Bitcoin has definitely benefited some investors, but the world’s largest digital currency and the crypto market are highly volatile. If you are thinking about investing in Bitcoin, it is essential to do some extensive study on the cryptocurrency.