The untold truth about Bitcoin you need to know
If you’re like me, bitcoin has been the talk of the town lately. It’s not too tricky to understand bitcoin and how it works, but there are many facts about bitcoin that will make your jaw drop! This blog post will go over some of these mind-blowing bitcoin facts.
There will only ever be 21 million Bitcoins
Out of those 21 million bitcoins, an estimated 19 million have already been mined and are in circulation. So what happens to the other two million bitcoins? They will be mined over the next 20 years or so.
Mining Bitcoin means that bitcoin is a deflationary currency because there are only a limited number of bitcoins that can ever be created. They will become scarcer as time goes on. Compare this to regular currencies like the dollar, which can be printed infinitely. Mining makes bitcoin an attractive currency for many because it means bitcoin will become more valuable as time goes on as it can be used as a hedge against inflation.
Due to bitcoin’s limited supply and increasing demand, each bitcoin becomes harder and harder for miners over time, so there will be an equilibrium point where one bitcoin is worth more than bitcoin. Mining means that bitcoin will become increasingly valuable over time, and it also makes bitcoin an excellent long-term investment!
Bitcoin is made of 31,000 lines of codes
Bitcoin is made up of 31,000 lines, and it’s this code that makes bitcoin so secure. The code is constantly being updated by developers so that bitcoin remains safe and stable. This code means that bitcoin is always getting better and more robust, making it a more reliable currency.
The bitcoin network has never been hacked! The bitcoin blockchain uses cryptographic algorithms that make it impossible to hack the system.
Bitcoins transactions are pseudo-anonymous
When you make a bitcoin transaction, your bitcoin address is not revealed to the public. Instead, it’s associated with a string of random letters and numbers. This string makes bitcoin transactions pseudo-anonymous because it’s challenging to track down who made a particular bitcoin transaction.
Bitcoin’s public ledger allows for anyone to look up how many bitcoin each bitcoin address holds, and this can be used as an identifying feature if someone knows who owns a specific bitcoin address or if they can track certain aspects of the transaction, such as IP addresses or it is involved with exchanges who have ‘Know your customer policies in place.
Bitcoin cannot be banned
Bitcoin and other digital currency is decentralized, which means any government or country cannot ban bitcoin. Bitcoin can also not be taken down by a cyber attack because bitcoin only exists in the blockchain and the code. This decentralization makes bitcoin very difficult to shut down or stop even if some governments want to!
If you lose your Bitcoin private key, you lose ALL of your Bitcoins
Losing your private key is probably one of the scariest bitcoin facts! If you lose your bitcoin private key, you lose all of your bitcoins. If you don’t back up your bitcoin private key, you could easily lose all of your bitcoin savings!
Bitcoin was sent to outer space
Bitcoin has been sent to outer space twice. The bitcoin satellite was created by bitcoin enthusiast Jeff Garzik who wanted bitcoin to be available everywhere, even if there is no internet or wifi connection!
Genesis Mining decided that launching a satellite into orbit would be an excellent way to raise awareness for Bitcoin.
Refunds are not possible on Bitcoin transactions because transactions can’t be reversed
If you send bitcoin to the wrong person or accidentally purchase something with bitcoin, there is no way to get a refund because bitcoin transactions are irreversible. This is one of the disadvantages of using bitcoin as a currency, but it’s also one of its strengths because it means that merchants can’t be cheated out of their money.
The first-ever Bitcoin transaction was over buying two pizzas
The first bitcoin transaction was a purchase made by one bitcoin enthusiast named Laszlo Hanyecz, who bought two pizzas from Papa John’s for him and his friend. This is probably the most famous bitcoin transaction of all time because it’s what started bitcoin on its path to success!
Now Every May 22nd is celebrated as Bitcoin Pizza Day!
Bitcoin transactions cost almost nothing
Compared to other forms of payment like credit cards or PayPal, bitcoin transactions are incredibly cheap to make. This is because there are no middlemen involved in bitcoin transactions like other forms of payment. This makes bitcoin a more affordable option for merchants and consumers alike!
The inventor of bitcoin is unknown
The inventor of bitcoin is unknown, and this has been a source of much speculation over the years. Some people believe that Satoshi Nakamoto, the name associated with the first bitcoin transaction, was bitcoin’s inventor, but this has never been confirmed. Whoever invented bitcoin remains a mystery to this day!
Satoshi Nakamoto was nominated for a Nobel Prize in economics
In 2010, Satoshi Nakamoto was nominated for a Nobel Prize in economics, but he never accepted the nomination. This is because Satoshi Nakamoto is a pseudonym and the true identity of bitcoin’s inventor remains unknown.
No single entity or government has control over bitcoin
As mentioned earlier, bitcoin is decentralized, which means no single entity or government has control over it. This makes bitcoin a potent tool because no one can shut it down!
You have to account for Bitcoin on your taxes
Bitcoin is considered property for tax purposes in most countries. This means that you have to account for bitcoin transactions when filing your taxes, even if you didn’t receive any money in return for the bitcoin transaction. Bitcoin is still a relatively new currency, and its tax status is still being sorted out by governments worldwide, so make sure to check with your local tax authority to find out how bitcoin should be treated for tax purposes!
About 1,000 people own 40% of the bitcoin in circulation
As of right now, there are about 21 million bitcoins in circulation, and just 1000 people own approximately 40% of them. This means that a minimal number of people have a lot of control over the bitcoin market!
The FBI made $48 Million by auctioning 144,000 seized bitcoins
In 2014, the FBI made $48 million by auctioning 144,000 seized bitcoins. This was a significant event in bitcoin history because it showed that the FBI was willing to sell off its bitcoin holdings, and it also demonstrated the value of bitcoin on the open market!
A new block of coins is solved every 10 minutes
A new block of bitcoin transactions is solved every ten minutes. This means that a new bitcoin transaction takes place roughly every second!
All bitcoin transactions that have taken place since it was formed can still be seen on the ledger
All bitcoin transactions that have taken place since it was formed can still be seen on the ledger. This means that you can see exactly how many bitcoin each bitcoin address has and what bitcoin address sent bitcoin to which other bitcoin address.
The computational power of the bitcoin network is more powerful than 500 supercomputers
The bitcoin network has more computational power than 500 supercomputers! This is incredible because it means that the bitcoin blockchain could theoretically be used to solve problems that are way harder than cracking passwords.
90% of all bitcoin addresses have less than 0.1 bitcoin
Right now, 90% of all bitcoin addresses have less than 0.001 bitcoin in them. This means that most people who own bitcoin don’t use it to buy things, and many of these addresses have never been used at all. They hold onto it as an investment!
One bitcoin transaction consumes more than 3,994 power than a credit card transaction does
The bitcoin network consumes more power than the entire country of Ireland! On average, bitcoin transactions consume over 400 megawatts, while credit card transactions only use about 70 megawatts. This means that bitcoin is an incredibly wasteful way to transfer money. It also makes bitcoin impossible to scale up for widespread implementation as a payment method in everyday life.
Takeaways
Wow!
As you can see, bitcoin is a fantastic technology with lots of potentials that is still just getting started.
Bitcoin is the best form of money in history.
Due to bitcoin’s decentralized nature, limited supply, ease of use around the world, immunity from inflation, low transaction costs compared to other forms of payment like credit cards, and its deflationary bias, bitcoin is the best form of money in history! This means that it has the potential to revolutionize how we use money and could eventually replace traditional forms of payment like cash and credit cards.
