Bitcoin is, as you know, the very first cryptocurrency that was created. Whether you are curious about bitcoin or a potential future investor, this article will certainly please you.
Do you know why May 22 is such an important date for Bitcoin? Do you know who created Bitcoin in the first place? We often hear that bitcoin is the king of cryptocurrencies, with a rich history and a simply incredible increase in its price.
Bitcoin has been at the center of international scandals and debates between banks and states. Likewise, and this is certainly the most disturbing, bitcoin has made many people rich in a dazzling way.
You won't be surprised to know that there are a number of interesting facts about Bitcoin that you might want to know if you want to have a bit of knowledge about bitcoin and the blockchain.
The first bitcoin payment was made to buy a pizza.
This is one of the most legendary stories in the history of bitcoin and also the landmark event in which Bitcoin was first used as a real currency, i.e. it was exchanged for goods or services.
On that fateful day – May 22, 2010 – 10 Bitcoins were exchanged for two pizzas. At the time, a bitcoin was only worth a few cents. With the current price of Bitcoin, 000 Bitcoins are worth millions of dollars.
The pizzas were purchased at a current value of over $800 million. If you are interested in reading the interview with the person who spent their 10,000 BTC on pizza, link the article here.
We still don't know who created Bitcoin.
One of the craziest facts about Bitcoin is that we simply don't know who created Bitcoin. Nobody knows until proven otherwise. Officially, Bitcoin was created by Satoshi Nakamoto, but it is undoubtedly a pseudonym used by an unknown programmer – or even a team of programmers.
Since Bitcoin was introduced in 2009, there have been many speculations about the true identity of Satoshi Nakamoto, but none of these investigations have been successful. Ultimately, since Bitcoin's decentralized nature is part of its appeal, it's probably a very good thing that no one knows who invented it.
A quarter of bitcoins have disappeared into thin air
If you are new to the world of Bitcoin, there are a number of basic facts about Bitcoin that you should know before diving in. First of all, Bitcoin does not exist outside of the Internet. This helps it stay truly decentralized. Bitcoins exist on the blockchain network and are only accessible to people who operate the network.
Since Bitcoin exists entirely online, accessing your Bitcoins is not as simple as opening a bank account. To access the Bitcoins you have mined, you must use a private key (a kind of big password). These unique codes are stored in your Bitcoin digital wallet and are necessary to use your crypto. If you lose your private key, you have absolutely no way of accessing your Bitcoins, and no one else will be able to. They will then be permanently lost.
Because of this, many people – especially those who owned Bitcoin before it had value – lost or threw away their private keys. It is estimated that 25% of all Bitcoins are likely lost and will never be used.
Yes, I know, you have just imagined the incredible amount of money that represents..
Soon we will no longer be able to create new bitcoins
It may be surprising to learn that there are also a limited number of Bitcoins available. After all, a virtual currency should be infinite, right?
In fact, if you think about how the price of Bitcoin is determined, the more Bitcoin there is, the less valuable it is!
Currently, there are over 16 million Bitcoins in circulation. The upper limit for Bitcoin is set at 21 million, but miners are not expected to mine the final Bitcoin until 2140. Some say it will go faster than expected.
It is also the fact that the issuance of bitcoin is limited which gives it so much value. Like gold, bitcoin is limited and therefore rare. This is also why many people invest in bitcoin.
You can now use Bitcoin for almost everything.
Bitcoin has come a long way since it was first used in 2010 by the person who bought two pizzas at Papa Johns.
Today, thousands of businesses accept Bitcoins in exchange for goods and services, showing that Bitcoin is becoming useful and almost commonplace in our society.
The BTMs which are the bitcoin counters and ATMs are becoming more common in large cities. Likewise, bitcoin bank cards are becoming relatively popular among the general public.
You can use Bitcoin to buy a cup of coffee at Starbucks or a Tesla Roadster or anything in between. You can even buy rather unusual objects with bitcoin like cars or even houses.
The ultimate goal for Bitcoin proponents is that one day there will be no functional distinction between cash and Bitcoin in the market. Looking at the current state, we can say that we are rapidly approaching this goal.
Bitcoin increases in value (or almost) every year.
Since its creation, the value of Bitcoin has increased every year except one. The biggest growth of Bitcoin was achieved in 2010, going from 0,0015 USD to 0,31 USD.
While the numbers may not seem impressive at first, consider the fact that this was a increase of more than 20%.
Almost no financial asset in the world has achieved such results!
2013 was another remarkable year for Bitcoin, where its value rose from around $13 to over $750!
The only year Bitcoin didn't see growth was 2014, when Bitcoin's price dropped from $751 to $285. This drop is largely due to the MtGox hack, and Bitcoin has continued its run ever since.
The question now is how high bitcoin will go.
No one or no state can “ban” Bitcoin.
The advent of decentralized digital currency, such as Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, has caused great turmoil in global markets.
Governments around the world had various reactions to this phenomenon.
Some governments have actually created their own state-sponsored cryptocurrencies with varying degrees of success, while others have discussed the possibility of banning cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin.
Ultimately, while it can be regulated, there is nothing governments can do to effectively ban cryptocurrencies, and that is what makes them so special.
In other words, the only way to ban bitcoin would be to ban the internet...Not easy, right?
Few people really understand how Bitcoin works.
Few elected officials really understand how bitcoin and blockchain work. Many people literally shut down when you try to explain it to them.
They imagine that it is much more complex to understand than anything else. As a result, they don't make the effort to understand.
However, it is not that complicated to understand, as long as the person really wants to know it and make the effort.
One of the scariest facts about Bitcoin is that its future may be in the hands of a bunch of old politicians who admit they don't even understand how the cryptocurrency works.
Even when they are well-intentioned, politicians usually have no idea what they are saying when they talk about Bitcoin.
We heard about governments banning bitcoin, when they didn't even know what it was.
And, let us remind you a second time, here, bitcoin can neither be prohibited nor banned.
The world's governments have the power to strictly regulate cryptocurrencies, of course, but not to ban them.
Bitcoin is anonymous, but it's not quite that
When you make a bitcoin transaction, the only personal information about you is your public address.
Everything else, including your name and identity, remains confidential. This anonymity is part of Bitcoin's appeal for many users.
However, the nature of the Bitcoin blockchain is such that it acts as an accounting ledger open to everyone.
Among the lesser-known facts about bitcoin, anyone on the blockchain with your public address can see a complete history of your transactions.
This registration is ultimately good for bitcoin users, because it allows government agencies to track down fraudsters and other white-collar criminals.
How do you think the FBI was able to shut down the site? Silk Road in 2015?
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Likewise, this article will surely interest you: The 10 myths about bitcoin that you probably still believe.
