The word bitcoin between the pages of a notebook full of Facts Copyright: www.123rf.com/profile_tom934
Bitcoin Facts:
Bitcoin took the world by storm several years ago and by 2020, the cryptocurrency is still going strong. Rather than using central authorities, Bitcoin makes use of cryptography to run its management.
It has become so revolutionary that a host of industries have found it useful. A lot of people have now recognized the benefits of Bitcoin and to honor this cryptocurrency, here are 10 interesting bitcoin facts that you might not have heard of.
Top 10 Bitcoin Facts
1. It’s a fact that the creator’s identity still remains a mystery
Many might know Satoshi Nakamoto (author of a 2008 whitepaper describing Bitcoin) as the creator of Bitcoin, but the fact is his identity is still shrouded in mystery. A host of people have been linked with the name over the years. Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk has even been touted as the creator! Most people are aware of this bitcoin fact, but there are some other lesser known bitcoin facts including:
In December 2013, computer scientist Nick Szabo was linked to the whitepaper by a blogger called Skye Grey. Szabo denied this fact, however.
In May 2016, Australian entrepreneur Craig Wright claimed on BBC that he was the creator of the cryptocurrency. The BBC confirmed that Wright produced technical evidence to support his claim. Subsequently, Wright didn’t provide the bitcoin facts to proof his identity and he later deleted his blog. In place of the blog was an apology saying that he was tired of proving his case.
A journalist in 2014 identified Dorian Prentice Satoshi Nakamoto as the creator of Bitcoin. This claim was strengthened by the fact that his real name was Satoshi Nakamoto. However, the computer engineer denied any connection to the cryptocurrency.
Andy Greenberg, a Forbes journalist, claimed that Hal Finney might have been a ghostwriter for Nakamoto. Finney, a computer scientist, and Bitcoin cryptographic pioneer was reportedly the first person to use Bitcoin’s software other than Nakamoto. Finney denied all this.
As of January 2018, Satoshi Nakamoto owned over $16.5 billion in bitcoins. Its owner might still remain a mystery in financial folklore, but this hasn’t affected the growth of Bitcoin.
2. The Fact is that Bitcoins are actually limited
Bitcoins are not infinite but limited in number. That’s why it’s pretty stable with a certain value. The number of bitcoins is limited because of an already defined schedule. Bitcoin mining is a process to digitally generate bitcoins, but it is now becoming harder to mine. It should be known that the finite amount of bitcoins is 21 million and it is expected that the last bitcoin would be mined in 2140.
3. Every Bitcoin transaction can be seen as Factual on the Blockchain
All bitcoin processes including comprehensive reports of operations can be accessed. This is because it is a software that is available to everyone. Since there’s no particular person or people behind this digital currency, its information isn’t controlled by anyone. Detailed information about Bitcoin transactions can be gotten from the Internet after a simple search.
4. Bitcoin transactions are irreversible
Bitcoin transactions done on the blockchain platform are final and irreversible. Unlike on PayPal, you cannot redo a transaction. These transactions can only be reimbursed by the receiver of the funds. This means that you should only do business with people and organizations you trust. Also, another fact about Bitcoin is its ability to detect typos and will prevent you from sending money to invalid addresses in error.
5. Bitcoin’s first transaction Fact: It was used to buy pizzas
Laszlo Hanyecz is the developer thought to make the first bitcoin transaction.
In 2010, Hanyecz used 10,000 bitcoins to buy two pizzas. At the time, those pizzas were $25.
Presently, those bitcoins are worth $100 million.
6. Losing your wallet means losing your bitcoins
Bitcoins are saved in bitcoin wallets – just the same way you save money in an online bank account. The bitcoin wallet is highly secure, but it still has its flaws. Securing your wallet is very important fact to consider, because if it gets lost, it cannot be retrieved in any way.
A Bitcoin wallet which serves as the de facto bank in which one stores their bitcoin has its own catch. The nature of Bitcoin as a decentralized currency with no single controlling authority exposes its holders to the serious danger of losing their valuable digital asset whenever they lose the physical possession of their wallets. This is why keeping ones wallet in a very secure place is important, as despite the fact that no one else actually takes over the control of the Bitcoins in a lost wallet, the use of such Bitcoin might forever be lost unless the owner recovers the actual wallet in which it is stored. For this reason they have hardware cold storage wallets available.
A classic example is the famous story of an early Bitcoin enthusiast in Wales, who mined a lot of Bitcoins valued in the tens of millions of dollars in today’s valuation of the currency, but who cannot use same Bitcoins as he threw away the laptop on which the Bitcoins were stored on a software wallet, which has since been dumped deep and buried in at a landfill site. Better get the shovels out.
7. The U.S. government made a substantial amount of money out of bitcoins
The U.S. Justice Department sold 144,336 bitcoins that were valued at over $48 million. This amount of bitcoin was gotten after shutting down Silk Road in 2013. The $48.2 million means that the government sold the bitcoins at an average of $334. It should be noted that if the government had sold the bitcoins in 2017, they might have made a staggering $630 million instead.
8. Sender/receiver Bitcoin details aren’t disclosed
Even though you possess a person’s bitcoin address, you cannot tell the recipient or sender’s details. This is because the address is made up of alphanumeric characters that are about 34-characters long.
Although the name of the individual is shown in other platforms, this does not apply to sending/receiving bitcoins. This is a reason why bitcoin is usually employed in illegal transactions.
A high number of safe wallets have programs that give you a portfolio ID which is still your username. This is effective because it prevents you from choosing a username that is similar to your name. This will increase privacy.
9. Bitcoin Legal Fact: It isn’t legal or allowed in some countries
Some governments have discouraged the use of bitcoin solely because they want to control monetary institutions. This is because the use of bitcoin mirrors a kind of peer-to-peer transaction.
What they’re saying is that they won’t be able to protect users in instances where the blockchain is down.
This will ultimately result in the disappearance of coins. Governments would particularly like the cryptocurrency world to be like the banking industry. However, this isn’t remotely possible in a Blockchain system.
Countries that have banned bitcoin include Bolivia, Kyrgyzstan, Ecuador, Morocco, Vietnam, Nepal and Bangladesh.
10. Bitcoin’s price is very volatile
The Fact about Bitcoin’s price remains that the price can fluctuate greatly each day. There are even huge changes during the course of just hours sometimes! The reason for the fluctuation of Bitcoin’s price is the way they are traded. Bitcoins are usually traded and purchased on various exchanges instead of in a central locations subjecting them to open market fluctuations and sometimes manipulation by large accounts. Over the last 8 months, Bitcoin has gone through four severe corrections for 20% of its bitcoin value. That just shows how volatile it can be sometimes.
Bitcoin Facts Conclusion
Bitcoin’s relevance to the world will continue to grow. This pioneer cryptocurrency has already done a lot for the business industry and it is steadily translating to use in other industries as well.
More and more uses for bitcoins are becoming available over time for purchasing goods. Bitcoins use is becoming more and more mainstream every year. I am sure that in time we will have more and more bitcoin facts to add to this list as time goes by.
One final fact is Bitcoin are great for making donations to help promote more articles like this one to give back to the community and help promote bitcoin and cryptocurrency.
Comments (No)