Bitcoin, aka BTC, has established itself as a unique digital currency. It doesn’t really rely on banks or governments. In 2008, the cryptocurrency came into existence. An unknown person or group of people invented this. Moreover, it started circulating when its implementation came as open-source software.
The blockchain technology that enables Bitcoin has the potential to transform various industries. The bitcoin blockchain is a public ledger that records bitcoin transactions.
It is an astonishing phenomenon in itself. Interestingly, there are many surprising facts related to Bitcoin but these 5 are most interesting. Have a look –
Fact #1 : First Bitcoin mortgage
It is a wide belief that Brock Pierce, entrepreneur and former child actor took out a fully crypto-based mortgage. The crypto enthusiast put up over 3 million BTC to buy a renovated chapel in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Recently, United Wholesale Mortgage also agreed to accept Bitcoin as mortgage payments. They also agreed to accept other cryptocurrencies.
Fact #2 : Bitcoin millionaires
As per the information accumulated by BitInfoCharts, there are around 1,00,000 addresses with BTC worth $1 million. The count is even more in them. Forbes has included 12 cryptocurrency billionaires on its 2021 Billionaires List. This includes the Winklevoss twins and FTX’s Sam Bankman-Fried.
Fact #3 : Legal tender
El Salvador became the first country to accept Bitcoin as legal tender. Bitcoin along with the U.S. dollar as a form of payment in the country is now legal.
Fact #4 : First bitcoin transaction
First commercial Bitcoin transaction took place in 2010. Laszlo Hanyecz paid 10,000 BTC for two Papa John’s pizzas — worth about $41 at the time. At today’s prices, that 10,000 BTC would be worth over $500 million. This is perhaps the real reason the story has become part of Bitcoin folklore.
Fact #5 : The last Bitcoin will be in 2140
So far, we could witness only 21 million Bitcoins. It’s built into the coin’s code or DNA. As a result, the way Bitcoin mining works is also unique. The number of Bitcoins that can be mined gets halved every four years. This means that although almost 90% of the total possible Bitcoin is already in circulation, it will take another 120 years or so to produce the remaining 2.2 million coins.