The Bitcoin coin, created in 2009, was the first successful digital asset. The emergence of a currency based on cryptographic encryption methods became a new stage in the development of financial systems. By 2021, a large number of interesting facts about the bitcoin cryptocurrency have accumulated. It is worth highlighting the most significant of them.
30 most interesting facts about bitcoin
A lot of curious cases have happened to the BTC cryptocurrency and its users since the coin’s creation. Most of the interesting facts are related to such stages:
- Bitcoin development.
- Investment.
- The launch of the Bitcoin network.
PoW History
The Bitcoin cryptocurrency blockchain operates on the Proof-of-Work consensus algorithm. It was created quite a long time ago – in 1993. The main goal of PoW developers was to fight spam. Initially, the algorithm had nothing to do with digital assets.
However, the use of Proof-of-Work for electronic money was first proposed by Hal Finney in 2004. This idea occurred to him against the background of his fascination with cipherpunk (ideas of cryptographic protection of personal information).
Who created Bitcoin
The name of the developer of the Bitcoin network is still unknown. It can be either one person or a group of programmers. According to different versions, the real name of the creator of Bitcoin:
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- US citizen of Japanese origin Dorian Nakamoto.
- Cryptography expert Nick Szabo.
- Australian entrepreneur Craig Steven Wright.
Proof-of-Work in Bitcoin
Bitcoin developer Satoshi Nakamoto evaluated the prospects of using PoW in the blockchain. In 2008, the creator published in the Internet network documentation for virtual coin. In it, Satoshi described in detail why he used Proof-of-Work and what problems the algorithm helped to solve.
Proof-of-Work Bitcoin
In 2009, Finney became a key person in testing the Bitcoin payment system. The creator of the first cryptocurrency sent 10 BTC to his account. This was the first transaction in the history of virtual assets.
A few earlier, Nakamoto asked Finney to familiarize himself with the Bitcoin program code. After receiving comments from the cypherpunk Satoshi gave Hal access to the BTC repository (data storage location).
Known information about the code
The first working version of the cryptocurrency consisted of about 14 thousand lines in the C++ programming language. In 2021, there are already more than 80 thousand. However, the figure is still small compared to some modern projects. The Linux kernel code includes more than 15 million lines.
Cryptomat
The world’s first BTC ATM was installed on October 29, 2013 at Waves Coffee House in downtown Vancouver, Canada. Afterward, the price of the Bitcoin coin rose by $126.
Pizza for Bitcoins
The first purchase of a physical good with Bitcoin was made on May 22, 2010 by a man named Laszlo Heinitz. He purchased 2 pizzas for 10,000 BTC – variously estimated to be around $40.
As of November 5, 2021, such a lunch would have been worth $622 million.
How much could be earned
Since Bitcoin’s inception, it has appreciated more than 86 million times in value by 2021. Having invested only $1 in the cryptocurrency 12 years ago, an investor would have received about $86 million. Previously, the editorial staff of Crypto.ru has already published a detailed material with the reasons why Bitcoin is so expensive.
Issue
The total possible number of bitcoins is limited – 21 million coins. In November 2021, the number of BTC in circulation is more than 18.86 million. Bitcoin issuance is gradually decreasing. The last coin will be mined around 2140.
Who issues bitcoins
Bitcoin issuance is facilitated by miners – nodes in the cryptocurrency network that confirm transactions and create blocks in the blockchain. They are rewarded for their work in the form of new coins – BTC. This happens automatically every 10 minutes.
Halving
Bitcoin issuance is halved once every 43-48 months. This process is called halving. In the blockchain, it happens automatically to reduce coin issuance to 0.
Shutting down a drug trading platform
In 2013, the U.S. FBI busted an anonymous Silk Road platform that sold drugs, guns, documents, and other illegal items. Then the federal authorities of the country got control of the cryptocurrency wallets of the platform with more than 144 thousand BTC.
Issue rate
In the fall of 2021, miners are mining almost 900 new BTC worth $54.5 million every day.
How many digital assets the creator has
Satoshi Nakamoto is believed to have mined more than 1 million coins (BTC) using a personal computer. Presumably the funds are stored on several wallets at once. They can be created without registration. Therefore, one person can control an unlimited number of addresses.
It is generally believed that during mining, the creator used an ordinary central processing unit (CPU).
Another interesting fact about Bitcoin
In 2021, it is possible to pay with bitcoins for physical goods in the following countries:
- Denmark.
- Australia.
- Germany.
- Japan.
- Switzerland.
- Belarus and others.
Where you should not use digital assets at all
Some countries ban tokens and coins and penalize (impose fines and send to jail) the use of cryptocurrency:
- Bangladesh.
- Saudi Arabia.
- Vanuatu.
- Vietnam and others.
For example, in Bangladesh, a user of digital assets can be jailed for up to 12 years. The country’s central bank banned cryptocurrency in 2017.
Which countries have adopted Bitcoin
The bitcoin cryptocurrency is officially accepted by the governments of only a few states:
- El Salvador.
- Japan.
- Spain.
- Switzerland.
Digital money can be used here on a par with national currencies. For example, it is allowed to pay taxes and buy goods in stores for bitcoins.
Russian legislation
The Russian government does not prohibit the citizens of the country to use bitcoins for personal purposes. However, the Law “On Digital Financial Assets” does not allow accepting payment with tokens or koins. Bitcoins can only be stored, sent or invested.
Who has more virtual money
The richest BTC investors are brothers Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss. According to some estimates, they have more than 1.5 million coins in their accounts in 2021. This is equivalent to $93 billion. This is an interesting fact about BTC, as the Winklevosses are not on the Forbes list.
Top 1 among accounts
The cryptocurrency bitcoin wallet of the Binance exchange ranks first among the richest addresses in 2021. It holds 288,126 BTC of the trading platform’s users.
Large share
The total number of bitcoins in wallets from the top 100 richest addresses represents approximately 15% of all Bitcoin coins issued as of 2021, which is equivalent to $175.4 billion.
The peak rate of the digital asset
Bitcoin has always been the most expensive cryptocurrency in terms of price and capitalization in the coin market. In 2021, the situation has not changed. In November, the coin updated the historical maximum value of $69,045.
What can not be returned
According to various estimates, approximately 4 million bitcoins have been permanently lost. As of November 2021, the amount of damage is $276 billion. Coins left on wallets, from which addresses and cryptocurrency keys are forgotten, are considered lost. Some of the lost coins were also stored on failed physical digital devices (hard disk, flash drive).
Network value
Market capitalization is the total price of the cryptocurrency system. It is calculated based on the number of coins issued multiplied by the current exchange rate. As of November 5, 2021, the market capitalization of bitcoins is $1.17 trillion.
Daily trading volume
Users of the BTC cryptocurrency conduct payment transactions and transfers every day in the Bitcoin system worth more than $10 billion. The data is taken as of November 5, 2021.
Direct Node Connectivity
Bitcoin uses blockchain technology – there are no servers or administrators in the system. All information is processed by nodes that are directly connected to each other.
The length of the chain and how many years it takes to hack it
There are 708,282 blocks created in the Bitcoin blockchain as of November 5, 2021. To hack access to each of the addresses, the average video card will take about 38 nonillion years, according to Bitcoin Core developer Luke Dash Junior, because the system uses a robust cryptographic hashing algorithm SHA-256.
Who got half of BTC
A total of 9,000 bitcoin addresses own about 50% of the coins. As of November 5, 2021, the total number of wallets is more than 0.9 billion.
How to mine
Effectively mine bitcoins can only be done with the help of special ASIC equipment. This is a computer equipment with a high power indicator, which is specially sharpened for the calculation of hash functions.
It is possible to use video cards for BTC mining. But the method is unprofitable because they have low computing power.
How to divide Bitcoin
One bitcoin consists of 100 million Satoshi. This allows holders to make fractional transfers.
Summary
BTC is the first successful cryptocurrency coin that was created in 2009 based on:
- Cryptographic encryption algorithms.
- Blockchain technology.
- SHA-256 hashing mechanism.
- Proof-of-Work consensus algorithm.
In 2021, the BTC virtual currency is the most valuable in terms of value (capitalization) of the network. Below are the figures as of November 5:
| Value | Market capitalization | Average daily trading volume |
|---|---|---|
| $62 861 | 1.17 trillion | 12.23 billion |
The coin was created by Satoshi Nakamoto. This is a pseudonym of a person or a group of programmers. The exact identity of the creator has not yet been established.
Frequently Asked Questions
🤔 Why did Satoshi Nakamoto use PoW?
This consensus algorithm was the only one among the few (in 2007-2009) that was able to solve the developer’s problems and implement the main ideas of the decentralized payment system.
🔴 Satoshi is originally from Japan?
The cryptocurrency community believes that Nakamoto is American or British, because he was fluent in English. Also, one of the Japanese users of bitcointalk.org forum (the official bitcoin portal) mentioned that in their country it is not customary to write the first name before the last name, although that is what Satoshi did all the time.
❓ How can bitcoins be issued?
Only through mining. Mining nodes are rewarded for generating blocks, increasing the total number of coins in circulation.
👨💼 What did the FBI do with the seized BTC?
In 2014, Tim Draper (cryptocurrency investor and founder of venture capital hedge fund firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson) bought 29,656 bitcoins that were auctioned off by federal authorities. What became of the rest of the funds is unknown.
⛏ Can the overall block mining rate be increased?
The blockchain has an algorithm that controls the generation of cryptocurrency chain links, so this process is stable. The system analyzes the mining speed of every 2016 blocks. And if they begin to be created faster, then the complexity of mining increases.
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Author: Saifedean Ammous, an expert in cryptocurrency economics.
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