Dive into the world of crypto by discovering seven surprising facts about the first and most popular digital currency, Bitcoin.
Bitcoin is an astounding phenomenon, as it has shown it’s unnecessary to rely on governments or banks to perform transactions. Besides, blockchain technology- on which Bitcoin depends- has the potential to revolutionize multiple industries, including healthcare and finance.
Investors are increasingly choosing cryptocurrencies to gain profits, with Bitcoin being the most prominent in the market. Did you know that you may not live to see the last Bitcoin? That’s because predictions show that it will be mined over a hundred years from now. Interesting, right? If we’ve sparked your curiosity, keep reading to learn more surprising facts about Bitcoin.
The identity of Bitcoin’s founder is still mysterious
Bitcoin may be famous, but its founder isn’t. The digital currency was introduced in 2009 by someone under the pseudonym of Satoshi Nakamoto. However, even today, it is still unknown whether Satoshi refers to an individual or a group of people. People were able to communicate with the founder only via forums or emails. The founder disappeared from the Internet in 2010, and no one has heard about them ever since.
There’s only one thing we know about this mysterious founder: Nakamoto owns around 1 million BTC, making them one of the wealthiest people in the world! It remains to be seen whether we’ll ever learn the real identity of Bitcoin’s founder.
El Salvador accepted Bitcoin as legal tender
On September 7, 2021, El Salvador accepted Bitcoin as a legal tender, becoming the first country to do so. Nayib Bukele, the country’s president, announced at Bitcoin Miami earlier in the past year that he believes the move would significantly improve people’s lives.
The government said they’d give $30 to citizens who opened a digital wallet. However, many of the country’s inhabitants opposed this plan for different reasons.
Bitcoin turned an 18-year-old into a millionaire
Due to its ingenious idea, Erik Finman became a millionaire when he was only 18. While other kids would use the money to buy games or toys, Finman took $1,000 from his education fund to buy Bitcoin, which at that time was worth around $10-12. He made a strategic investment, selling his first Bitcoin at a price that brought him massive gains in a few years.
After a conflict at school, he gave up on traditional education and invested his Bitcoin cash in Botangle – an online school company he founded. His idea became profitable when someone said they wanted to buy the company for 300 bitcoins. Finman was making a loss at that time, as 300 bitcoins were worth around $60,000, and he invested $100,000 into his business. However, he kept believing in his idea, and through his determination, he succeeded, becoming one of the youngest Bitcoin millionaires.
The first Bitcoin transaction was a pizza purchase
In 2010, Laszlo Hanyecz was struggling financially, and all he had left was Bitcoin, which was unknown during that time. One BTC was worth only $0.0025. Because of hunger and desperation, Laszlo Hanyecz posted on the Bitcoin community that he wanted to get two pizzas in exchange for 10,000 BTC. Jeremy Sturdivant, an 18-year-old young man, found the idea appealing, and as such, he ordered 2 Papa John Pizzas to Hanyecz’s house, receiving $25 for them. This is known as the first commercial Bitcoin transaction and is commemorated yearly through Bitcoin Pizza Day.
Bitcoin price today is significantly higher than it was years ago. Nowadays 10, 000 BTC is worth over $500 million, so you can now easily purchase a fancy house with those same 10, 000 BTC!
20% of Bitcoin has been lost for good
According to Chainalysis, 20% of Bitcoin has been lost permanently or is stuck in inaccessible wallets. More precisely, it’s 3.76 million BTC, worth about $190 billion. If you wonder how that is possible, let us explain it. First, Nakamoto holds about 1.1 million BTC, which he has agreed never to touch. Unfortunately, some people didn’t share access to their Bitcoin before passing away, which is another reason some coins are out of circulation.
And the last culprit is lost keys. Bitcoins are kept in a digital wallet, where you can log in to check your account balance. The password and key allow you to access this mobile wallet. However, you must be cautious when saving your password and key because if you lose your key, you’ll never be able to access your wallet again, which means you’ll lose all your funds forever.
There’s a limited supply of Bitcoin
That is only 21 million bitcoins, and 16.3 of them have already been mined. It is estimated that the last bitcoin will be mined in 2140, and no other fresh bitcoins will be used after that.
Due to how Bitcoin mining functions, Bitcoins can only be mined only at half every four years. 90% of the total Bitcoins are already in circulation, but the other 2.2 million coins left will be manufactured in 120 years.
Bitcoin ATMs allow you to buy and sell Bitcoin
Bitcoin ATMs are machines that accept money and then convert it into Bitcoin or any other crypto for your digital wallet. In some cases, Bitcoin ATMs enable you to sell BTC and withdraw money from the machine.
There are around 5,000 Bitcoin ATMs worldwide, with America at the top of the list of countries with the most ATMs. In Canada, the first Bitcoin ATM, Robocoin, was installed in a coffee shop.
Bitcoin is here to stay
Bitcoin has kept flourishing ever since its creation back in 2009. People love its enhanced security, ease of use, and potential to bring significant gains. Even if it is volatile, just like other cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin is also lucrative, and it’s unlikely that it will ever be dethroned, considering that it is the world’s leading cryptocurrency, and many investors prefer it over the others.
These surprising facts prove Bitcoin’s potential to bring massive gains if you use the right strategy. Moreover, Bitcoin has evolved considerably in the past years, as the only thing you could buy years ago was a couple of pizzas. Nowadays, however, there’s a lot you can purchase with BTC. Everyone interested in crypto should learn as much as possible about their preferred digital currency, so we hope you enjoyed discovering these interesting facts about Bitcoin.
Ahmad Rana