Top 10 Facts Everyone Needs to Know About Bitcoin
We have collected the most interesting facts about the father of the crypto, Bitcoin. They will help you to understand the main cryptocurrency better.
What Is Bitcoin?
Bitcoin is the most expensive cryptocurrency in the world. It is also frequently called the father of crypto because it is the first cryptocurrency.
Bitcoin was launched in 2009 during the period of economic recession. The aim of cryptocurrency was to provide people an alternative to fiat money. Now, it is accepted on all cryptocurrency exchanges. Along with it, an increasing number of online shops, gambling, and gaming platforms also accept Bitcoin along with fiat money.
The First Purchase Made with Bitcoin
The first official purchase with Bitcoin took place on May 22, 2010. Laszlo Hanyecz from Florida bought two Papa John’s pizzas. Laszlo Hanyecz reached the Bitcointalk community with the following request: “I’ll pay 10,000 bitcoins for a couple of pizzas, like maybe two large ones so I have some left over for the next day. I like having left over pizza to nibble on later. You can make the pizza yourself and bring it to my house or order it for me from a delivery place, but what I’m aiming for is getting food delivered in exchange for bitcoins where I don’t have to order or prepare it myself, kind of like ordering a ‘breakfast platter’ at a hotel or something, they just bring you something to eat and you’re happy! If you’re interested please let me know and we can work out a deal.”
Later, he updated the story by showing the evidence of the purchase. So, for now, these two pizzas are the most expensive pizzas that have been ever purchased. As for the moment of writing, their price would be above 410,000,000 Bitcoins. We believe that the guy has already regretted the purchase many times.
This event has been celebrated since then. The latest Bitcoin pizza event took place in May 2021 to support the local pizzerias that have been influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic. PizzaDAO joined its forces with Slice, the platform that powers the largest network of pizzas in the USA, to offer over 2,500 free pizzas across the country.
Binance and Huobi have partnered to organize competitions to celebrate pizza day (it is celebrated on May, 22, the day when the purchase of pizzas was made). The prize pool was USD 22,000, with one user set to win USD 5,220.
Who Is the Inventor of Bitcoin?
We all know that the inventor of Bitcoin is Satoshi Nakamoto. Who is Satoshi Nakamoto though? It is not a real name but a pseudonym. For now, it is know known whether it was used by one person or a group of people.
He (or they) developed the very first blockchain (the Bitcoin blockchain), and he was still involved in the Bitcoin development until 2010. After that, he vanished, and all the searches for the Bitcoin founder haven't brought any results.
It was claimed at some time that Nakamoto is a 37-year-old Japanese man. However, the ease of how he uses English in communication with developers makes us believe that he is rather a British or somebody who has lived in Great Britain for a long time.
Another theory tells that the Satoshi Nakamoto pseudonym was used for a group of people. One of the main reasons to believe so is the complexity of the Bitcoin project. It could be either created by a genius or by a group of people.
Does the mysterious Bitcoin founder have any Bitcoins? Nobody knows it, too, and it is impossible to find out.
A Bitcoin Transaction Is Irreversible
To understand why a transaction in Bitcoin (well, in any cryptocurrency) cannot be reversed, you shall understand the basics of blockchain technology. A blockchain consists of blocks - pieces of information where transactions are registered. When a block is confirmed, another block follows. The previous block cannot be changed. So, no data in it can be modified. It means that if your transaction was confirmed on a blockchain, it cannot be replayed back.
However, you can return your funds if the receiving party is willing to send the funds back to you. In such a case, a new transaction is created and is registered in the blockchain.
Bitcoin Can’t Be Banned
While we all have heard that Bitcoin cannot be banned, it is still unclear why so. It is because Bitcoin is nothing but a code. This code is stored in the blockchain. Users access the coins via another code, the private keys.
Sending Bitcoins can be compared with sending any digital information. It cannot be tracked or banned.
Bitcoins Are Limited in Number
Bitcoin is code, it doesn’t have any intrinsic value. Basically, its price depends on the demand and on how much people are willing to pay for it. To maintain the coin value, scarcity shall be created. In other words, the entire supply of the coin shall be limited. The Bitcoin creators knew about it, so, the maximum number of Bitcoins that can ever be mined is limited to 21 billion.
Smallest Fractions of Bitcoin
One Bitcoin can be divided into Satoshis. One Satoshi is one 100 millionths of a Bitcoin. It is made to enable people to use Bitcoins freely.
A Lot of Power Is Needed for Bitcoin Mining
Bitcoin mining is known for being demanding due to high power consumption. Just to compare, Bitcoin mining consumes about 60 terawatt-hours of electricity per year while Ireland consumes just 5,000 kilowatt-hours during the same period. To complete one transaction, approximately 1,544kWh is needed. It is the energy amount that an average US household consumes during 53 days.
Mining rigs not only consume power. They also generate heat. The heat is released into the environment which also has a negative impact on our planet.
Loss of Private Keys Means Loss of Bitcoins
While many people believe that private keys are coins, it is not correct. As we know, a coin is just a code, a string of symbols. This string is registered in the blockchain. When a coin is sent to somebody, new symbols are added to the already existing string, and a new coin is created and registered in the blockchain.
For example, you have a coin yurytiMgnriutuy1213. You send it to your friend, so, to the existing code yurytiMgnriutuy1213 new symbols are added. A new code is created, which might look like yurytiMgnriutuy1213yuo, for example. This new code is again registered on the blockchain. The previous code is in this way rewritten, so the coin yurytiMgnriutuy1213 becomes invalid.
Now, you might be wondering how private keys are related to the coin, and why then you need a cryptocurrency wallet.
The thing is that crypto coins are not stored in a wallet. They are stored in a blockchain. But how can a user prove that the coin yurytiMgnriutuy1213 belongs to him and he can send it? It is done through a private key. A private key is a bridge between the user and the coin. It is proof that that specific coin belongs to the user. Private keys are stored in your wallet.
In a wallet, you store access to your coins while the coins are stored in the blockchain. If you lose private keys, coins still are there, in the blockchain, but nobody can access them. So, they are lost for use by people.
The Most Valuable Hard Drive
How much can a hard drive cost? We bet you can hardly think of $146 million. When Bitcoin was just launched, a British IT worker James Howells mined 7,500 Bitcoins. He sold the laptop that he used for mining but he stored Bitcoins in a hard drive. And later, he accidentally tossed out the hard drive. The precious device ended up buried in a landfill in Wales.
Howells requested permission from the municipality to dig out the drive but was refused due to environmental concerns.
Things You Can Buy with Bitcoin
Now, Bitcoin is accepted by many businesses as a payment method. Basically, you can buy whatever you want with Bitcoin, starting from snacks and fast food, and finishing with cars and furnishing.
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