10 Interesting facts about Bitcoin

For a long time, something was just a fantasy, but today it is possible: a decentralized digital currency that is increasingly used in everyday life. In the meanwhile, there are many variants on the Bitcoin, also called crypt currency, but Bitcoin remains the most significant coin to date. Do you want to know more? These are ten interesting facts about Bitcoin.

10. The FBI belongs to the richest Bitcoin owners

Cryptovaluta such as Bitcoin is extremely useful for criminals on the internet. Because of this new technology, they can transfer anonymous money for, for example, drug trafficking. These deals are predominantly on the dark web, where it is meant that no one can find and stop the drug dealers. Nevertheless, the FBI has managed to roll up several major networks (including "Silk Road") where online drugs were traded. Due to the massive use of Bitcoin within this group, the FBI could immediately seize a significant amount of this currency. This organization has thus acquired several wallets worth 30,000, 96,000 and even 144,000 Bitcoin and now in its possession. This makes the FBI the number two of the richest Bitcoin owners in the world.

9. A bitcoin transaction consumes enough energy for three households

You would say that acting in Bitcoin would be an effortless process as everything happens online. Nevertheless, the mining and trading of this currency have become very involved over the years. That means that a lot of energy is also needed to get the coin. It is calculated how much energy it is today: no less than 94-kilowatt hours per transaction. This amount of energy is enough to power more than three households for a day. The mining and trading of Bitcoins are certainly not as simple and fast as it seems.

8. The largest transaction was worth $ 147 million

In 2013, the biggest transaction in Bitcoin took place. Due to the nature of this currency, it is possible to check every transaction, even though the channels and recipients are anonymous. This deal contained exactly 194,993 bitcoins and at that time had a worth of $ 147 million, which is about almost 125 million euros. The transaction was provided with a message: "Sh * t Load of Money!". Because the sales all went anonymously, people began to speculate who was responsible for this unprecedentedly high payment in Bitcoins. The two individuals who are still associated with many people today are the founder of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto, and wealthy businessman Richard Branson.

7. What was worth 100 dollars in 2010 is now worth 100 million

Investors know that trading in money is predominantly at risk. It is therefore easy to say afterward that you could have been rich by acting in Bitcoin. Still, some lucky ones were curious in 2010 in this cryptocurrency to invest $ 100. That risk has been rewarded because, over the years, the value of the Bitcoin has risen sharply. Nowadays, that hundred dollars would have grown to worth $ 100 million, which is a virtually unprecedented increase in value. One of these lucky birds is Kristoffer Koch. He bought some Bitcoins in 2009 for research for his dissertation. A few years later, he remembered that he had the Bitcoins in his wallet, and suddenly appeared to have hundreds of thousands of dollars

6. Thanks to the "Block Chain" Bitcoins can not be duplicated

The big problem with fiat money is that this form of money is susceptible to fraud and inaccurate spending. If the database is not ready, it is, therefore, possible to issue the same currency twice. This is because the transaction information is not linked to the money. At Bitcoin, this is the case, in the form of a so-called "Block Chain." This database is all about every transaction done with Bitcoins. Because there is no central point where this information is stored, it is no longer possible to issue a coin multiple times before the system does. As a result, the Bitcoin is one of the more constant cryptocurrencies, because you can only spend money that you have.

5. Bitcoin in space

More and more people are convinced of the value that the Bitcoin can offer. This crypt currency can go a long way, and they would like to prove that too. That's why Bitcoin Company Genesis Mining decided to send a Bitcoin space. They achieved this by releasing a weather balloon with a 3D model of a bitcoin on it. Their goal was to reach a height of twenty kilometers. When the balloon was at this level, it was time to send a bitcoin from the earth to the balloon. Bringing the first Bitcoin to space was fortunate. The ball did not stop at the height of twenty kilometers but even went so far that the 34 kilometers were achieved. To celebrate this milestone, the company decided just to send a bitcoin to the balloon for fun. It's only really getting high heights.

4. The hardware of all bitcoin users is thousands of painters faster than those of the top 500 supercomputers

Bitcoin is a system that works because miners all over the world work together to keep the crypto valuta safe and active. They help with their hardware to keep the transactions safe and pay as a reward for what eventually becomes a Bitcoin. Because people around the world are active with Bitcoins, there is a lot of computing power in this currency. It has been calculated that this power is precise, and this was based on a strength that was 11,000 times more than that of 500 supercomputers combined, this was in 2015. By 2013, it was "only" 256 times faster. These facts give a good insight into the impact of the Bitcoin in the online world.

3. There is a limit on Bitcoins

Many people who are not very familiar with the concept of crypto valuta will think that there is, in fact, an unlimited amount of Bitcoins. No international bank can restrict the printing of money, as this currency only exists online. However, there is a limit to some Bitcoins that can be reduced, namely 21 million. The money is created by users finding a block. The developers of this currency have determined that an average of six blocks per hour can be detected. Once 210,000 have been discovered, half reduces this frequency. As a result, the growth of the Bitcoin is increasing, and it is expected that the last currency will be found in 2140. It is also becoming increasingly difficult for merchants to get new coins in their wallet,

2. The first Bitcoin transaction in the "real world" was good for two pizzas

Since the Bitcoin is an online currency, it is evident that this money is primarily used on the Internet. For a long time, this was also the case because the Bitcoin had not yet been sufficiently built to get companies to accept the currency. However, this first transaction in the real world went on a small detour. During the early days of the Bitcoin, the currency was not worth much as now, so that a user paid 10,000 Bitcoins to another user who ordered two big pizzas in exchange for the coins at the American chain Pappa John's. Today, 10,000 Bitcoins would be worth much more than just two pizzas, because, with the Bitcoin inflation, this user would have paid 40 million dollars for his pizza. This foreign transaction will go into the books as the first purchase in a Bitcoins store.

1. Nobody knows who is the founder of Bitcoin

When you wonder who invented the Bitcoin and set up this international system, you will be called Satoshi Nakamoto. He is known as the founder of the Bitcoin, but nobody knows who he is. Its real name, age, and origin are not known to any currency user and are a big mystery for many users. Some people have been under investigation and assume that the founder is an American or even British man. His name suggests that he comes from Japan, but since Japanese characters are never used in his encoding, this does not seem to be the case. One thing is sure: the inventor of this crypto-currency has almost one million Bitcoin and is, therefore, a billionaire with a $ 4 billion.