ZoneBitcoin EditorialBitcoin is a decentralized cryptocurrency that has existed since 2009. Since its creation, its popularity and adoption around the world has continued to grow.
Many anecdotes mark its history and here in this article are some of them that are interesting to know.
The identity of the creator of Bitcoin remains a mystery
Who invented bitcoin? It is undoubtedly one of the greatest enigmas of the digital age. Indeed, one or more people acting under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto invented bitcoin in 2008. Satoshi then disappeared in 2010 and his last message with dates back to April 2011, when he declared: "I have moved on. [Bitcoin] is in good hands."
Since then, we have never heard from him, we have never seen him in person and we have never even heard his voice. Today, his bitcoins are worth several billion dollars and have never been touched.
Bitcoin ATMs exist in Africa
Despite the economic and political difficulties facing many African countries, Bitcoin is increasingly accepted in Africa with significant adoption. In 2022, there were 15 Bitcoin ATMs on the continent. These were located in the following countries: Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Djibouti. It is possible to know the locations on the map BtcMap.org. The country with the most businesses that accept bitcoin is South Africa.
A bug accidentally produced 184 billion bitcoins
A most surprising event took place on August 15, 2010. It was the accidental creation of 184 billion bitcoins, which was caused by a bug. But the problem was quickly corrected before it created a real mess on the network. The incident is known as " value overflow incident ».
There will never be more than 21 million bitcoins
In his white paper, Satoshi Nakamoto indicated that there will never be more than 21 million bitcoins. According to estimates, this limit will be reached in 2140.
Hal Finney, the first recipient of Bitcoin, died in cryogenics
Hal Finney is an American computer scientist who was the first to receive bitcoin from Satoshi Nakamoto himself. Many people thought that he could be the real creator of Bitcoin. He died in 2014 from the disease known as ALS. His fortune amassed through Bitcoin now finances the cryogenic preservation of his body.
Bitcoin mining consumes as much energy as Norway
According to Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index the energy consumed by Bitcoin mining is 132.5 TWh per year in 2021. We can compare such consumption to that of a country like Norway, Pakistan or even Ukraine. Furthermore, if bitcoin mining requires so much energy it is because of the Proof of Work process. This is what allows being Bitcoin so secure and decentralized.
The first university to accept Bitcoin is in Cyprus
The University of Nicosia in Cyprus was the first university in the world to accept Bitcoin to pay academic fees in 2013. Currently, the "bitcoin evangelist" Andrea Antonopolous is part of the teaching team. Since then, many other universities have followed, including Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts in Switzerland, ESMT Berlin, King's College in the United States, University of Cumbria and FPT University in Vietnam .
Paxful builds schools using Bitcoin
Paxful is a P2P platform among the most used in the industry. With his NGO BuiltWithBitcoin, the company wants to create more than 100 schools around the world, particularly in Africa. Currently, Paxful is building a school in Kenya and Nigeria. He also built two Rwanda.
The first Bitcoin transaction was a pizza purchase
The 22 May 2010, Laszlo Hanyecz made the first real Bitcoin transaction by buying two pizzas in Jacksonville, Florida for 10 BTC.
At the time, the value of one bitcoin was about $0,30. Today, the value of those two pizzas would be several million dollars. Since then, May 22 is a day celebrated as the " Pizza Day » in the bitcoin community.
Largest Bitcoin transaction is 194,993 BTC
The largest bitcoin transaction amounts to 194,993 BTC which was worth $147 million in 2013, year of operation. To this day, no one still knows the author of this operation and the affair has sparked many reactions.
Bitcoin holders keep it for an average of 3 years
A study of Into The Block showed that on average people who buy bitcoins and hold them for three years still make a profit. In fact, those who have done this experiment have done quite well, with gains of up to 10%.
Losing your private key means losing your Bitcoins
James howells is a British man who lost 7 Bitcoins in 500 when he threw away his hard drive containing his private keys. Currently his lost Bitcoins are worth nearly $2013 million. Furthermore, James' case is not the only one. Moreover, more than 212% of the BTC put into circulation no longer exist. There are approximately 4 million bitcoins that seem lost forever.
Blockstream broadcasts blockchain worldwide via satellites
The Blockstream satellite broadcasts the Bitcoin blockchain worldwide 24/24. This allows anyone, anywhere to use Bitcoin, even if the local internet is no longer available.
Bitcoin is illegal in some countries
Bitcoin has been banned in several countries, including Namibia, Kyrgyzstan, Bolivia, Vietnam, Ecuador, the Morocco, Bangladesh and Colombia.
However, these bans have been largely ineffective. The only way for a government to ban Bitcoin would be to completely shut down the Internet, which would be highly unlikely.
Bitcoin is legal tender in two countries
El Salvador was the first country in the world to make bitcoin legal tender in 2021. This means that it is perfectly legal to pay with bitcoin throughout the country. In 2022, the Central African Republic also legalized Bitcoin with the initiative Sangocoin. However, legislation is currently in the works to make the project a reality.
Bitcoin is favored by celebrities
Many celebrities have adopted Bitcoin, including Gwyneth Paltrow, Paris Hilton, Snoop Dogg, Ashton Kutcher, Justin Bieber, Hugh Laurie, Mike Tyson and Pitbull. This is a non-exhaustive list because the number of celebrities who are interested in Bitcoin is increasing day by day.
Bitcoin could reach $1 million
John McAfee predicted that bitcoin would be worth $1 million by the end of 2020. His prediction (unfortunately) did not come to fruition. However, many other people like Arthur Hayes said they believe bitcoin will hit $1 million before 2030.
During its 15 years of existence, Bitcoin has had great moments in its history. The least we can say is that it still has some nice surprises in store for us and certainly even more anecdotes in the future!
