With everything going digital nowadays, from shopping for clothes to dating, it’s really no surprise that technology has come up with a digital alternative for money. Sure, online transactions are possible with our usual bank-managed currencies, but cryptocurrencies eliminate the need to trust and involve a third party in any transaction. While currencies like Bitcoin, Ether and Bitcoin Cash are popular, the digital world is now filled with several cryptocurrencies including bizarre ones like Pizzacoin and Selfiecoin (now both defunct). Cryptocurrency may be popularly used, but there are still many things we don’t know about them, including some really crazy facts.
Bitcoin’s founder is a mystery
Bitcoin was the first digital currency invented, and the person (or group of people) behind its invention called Satoshi Nakamoto. Claiming to be a middle-aged Japanese man, Satoshi released a whitepaper describing bitcoin which quite literally changed the world. An enigma to date, he vanished in April 2011 without a trace, and no one knows who he is to date. Satoshi is, however, rumoured to own 1 million bitcoins.
source: pixabay.com
Bitcoin is finite
Unlike offline money, Bitcoin is not available in infinite supply. There are an exact number of Bitcoins that will ever be out there. That number is 21 million! It has been predicted that the last bitcoin will be mined in 2140, after which there will be no new Bitcoins to be mined.
Lose your wallet, lose your money
Digital or not, there is no “forgot password” option in the crypto world. This is because a completely decentralized system controls cryptocurrency, and there is no central unit that stores the generated codes. If you lose your crypto wallet or your private key, you’re doomed. So make sure your access details are saved somewhere safe, always.
10,000 Bitcoins were once paid for pizza
The first purchase through Bitcoin was done in 2010 by a developer, for something as simple as pizza. He bought two Papa John’s pizzas for exactly 10,000 BTC. Bitcoin’s value now puts this amount at $ 180 million! This actually shows how much cryptocurrency has evolved in just a few years, its value rising from 10,000 bitcoins for pizza to just 1 bitcoin being enough to buy a car.
Banning crypto is not possible
Due to the versatile nature of cryptocurrency and the sheer number of currencies available, digital currencies can’t be banned. Countries have tried, of course, including Bangladesh and Thailand, but others have accepted the fact that regulating it is the best bet to control its volatile nature to some extent, and have made it officially legal.
There are fractional amounts in Bitcoin
Like the defunct paise to a Rupee or cents to a Dollar, bitcoin also has fractional amounts. Millibitcoin is one of them, but the smallest amount of bitcoin is called Satoshi, amounting to one hundred millionth (0.00000001th) of a bitcoin.
Number of crypto wallets exceeds 6 million
It’s unsure exactly how many wallets exist right now, but an estimate puts it between 6 and 12 million. And this is the number of wallets which are active right now. Out of this huge number, at least half the wallets are capable of storing more than one kind of cryptocurrency.
5 charts to know your Cryptocurrencies