12 Interesting Facts About Bitcoin
Do you know that more than 92% of all financial experts of the world in the first years of Bitcoin's appearance recognized him as an entirely unpromising payment instrument? Nevertheless, for almost ten years this cryptocurrency has not only been continually improving but also beat all new records at its cost.
Here are the most interesting facts about Bitcoin, which will significantly expand your knowledge of the digital currency.
1. The appearance of bitcoin
The history of the world's first crypto began in 2008, when its creator, a Japanese named Satoshi Nakamoto, published the Bitcoin protocol openly, which specified the principles of the technology and operation of the cryptocurrency. In 2010, Mr. Nakamoto ceased to engage in project support, but other enthusiasts continued his work. There are several views on when is the official birthday of BTC. Someone believes that this is October 31, 2008 (the day of publication of the protocol). Others think that this is January 3, 2009 (the day when Satoshi Nakamoto mined fifty bitcoins).
2. The mysterious programmer
The world still does not know who exactly created bitcoin. In 2014 the Newsweek publishing house stated that it had found "the father of all cryptocurrencies". The publication said that he lives in Temple City (USA, California). The reason for this statement was that in the biography of this man there was a period when he had no official employment. Ironically, this period happened just at the time of bitcoin launch. Mr. Nakamoto himself was extremely unhappy with the huge attention to his person and denied involvement in high technologies. To leave his family alone, he had to record an official video message.
A year later, an Australian businessman named Craig Wright publicly stated that he had created bitcoin. However, he couldn't convince the reporters, and to date, the identity of the creator of the BTC remains one of the most curious secrets. We can say the only one thing about him - he is incredibly rich. According to experts, he owns about a million bitcoins.
3. Pizza for a million dollars
The first bitcoin transaction was carried out on May 22, 2010, when the American programmer Lazlo Khanesh paid bitcoins for pizza. Of course, at that time the sellers had never heard about such a payment method, just the pizzeria owner was the same crypto-enthusiast as Lazlo. He agreed to exchange two pizza for 10 thousand virtual coins. By today's standards, the transaction value would have been 115 million dollars.
4. Shopping for BTC
On the wave of the popularity of the dad of cryptocurrencies, large online stores began to take bitcoin and some other coins as a means of payment. Among them are: Dell Electronics Distributor, WordPress hosting platform, eBay trading giant and hundreds of small retailers that can be found on the Coinmap.
5. The Federal Bureau of Bitcoins
Bitcoin Anonymity, of course, attracted the traders of the black market. In 2013, the US government covered the Silk Road - a darknet resource, where consumers were offered illegal goods and services for bitcoins. Under the control of America, there are still virtual wallets of darknet users with a total of 144 thousand bitcoins.
6. The crime of the century
In early 2014, a hacker attack came crashing down on the Japanese stock exchange Mt. Gox. As a result, the resource lost almost half a billion dollars. Money in bitcoins was transferred from the accounts of investors in an unknown direction. It is the most massive theft in the history of the cryptocurrency. It first made users think that even super-secure resources can be helpless before hacking.
7. Opinions of billionaires diverge
Warren Buffett, one of the most influential investors, is a staunch opponent of cryptocurrencies. Once he spoke about bitcoin, in an interview with CNBC:
"Stay away from bitcoin. It's not a currency, it's a soap bubble. It does not represent any value. "
Many of the sharks of business share his opinion. In particular, billionaire Jamie Dimon, general manager of JPMorgan Chase, speaks even more bitterly about bitcoin: "What kind of business can we talk about if people invest in the air? Nothing good will end there. Someone will be killed, and then the government will have to intervene. "
But there are those who remain optimistic. Among them are financier Ryan Charles, billionaire Mark Cuban, and businessman Richard Branson. All of them have savings in the cryptocurrency and advise their supporters to do the same.
8. Millionaire twins and a smart teenager
Former Harvard students, the twins Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss became famous for filing a lawsuit against Mark Zuckerberg for allegedly stole the idea of Facebook's social network from them. In 2013, they bought bitcoins for a total of $11 million. When in 2017 the price of currency sharply increased, the brothers became the world's first bitcoin-billionaires. They filed a petition with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on the creation of an exchange crypto fund, but the idea was rejected.
A few years ago, 14-year-old teenager Erik Finman invested in the bitcoin 1000 dollars, which he gave his grandmother. Now the guy is 19, and he is among the youngest bitcoin millionaires. In his tweet, he advises teenagers to look for a favorite thing and not be afraid to earn it. According to him, a small additional income will be an incentive to the desire to learn to earn more.
9. Celebrities do not stand aside
Not only financial experts but also the stars of cinema and music are interesting in bitcoin. The actress and founder of the lifestyle company Gwyneth Paltrow suggest using the Abra wallet. Actor Ashton Kutcher, rapper Nas, and boxer Floyd Mayweather transferred part of his fortune to BTC.
10. Support from a serious financial company
In the summer of 2017, a major investment company Fidelity Investments added bitcoin to its platform. It also launched a charitable project, where it collected more than $ 22 million in bitcoins.
11. HardFork
August 1, 2017 bitcoin experienced a "split personality" - the so-called hardfork. The considerable delays in the network became the main reason why the block needed to be updated. As a result, the currency was divided into two parts - the classic BTC and the new Bitcoin Cash. However, in fact, there are more clones in Bitcoin: its open code can be used by anyone to create a new cryptocurrency, which will only slightly differ from the original.
12. Incredible numbers
At the end of November 2017, the cost of bitcoin reached $ 10,000. In less than a month, it doubled. Now there are about 17 million bitcoins in circulation, the price for one coin fluctuates around $ 9,000, and the total capitalization is hundreds of billions.