Published by Leonardo Calcagno
Unless you are a recluse living in the mountains, you would have heard of Bitcoin. Bitcoin was the first decentralized digital currency launched in 2009, and since its inception, several other cryptocurrencies have made their debut. Today, there are greater than 2090 cryptocurrencies and the total market cap is about $216 billion. Of all these digital currencies, Bitcoin holds the largest value in terms of market cap. As a result, more and more people are investing in Bitcoin, quite often through apps like Bitcoin Trader. Check out https://kryptoszene.de/
Interesting Facts about the Bitcoin That an Investor Should Know:
- No one yet knows who actually invented Bitcoin in 2009. There have been many speculations ever since its launch a decade back. The whitepaper was published under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto and his identity is still shrouded in mystery. In May 2016, an Australian businessman Craig White claimed to have invented it; the claim was dismissed later. It is often claimed that Toshiba, Samsung, Motorola, and Nakamichi all came together to create Bitcoin.
- The very first Bitcoin was used to buy pizza; this happened in May 2010 when pizzas were bought using the crypto coin as no retailer could then accept Bitcoin for their goods and services. The value of 10,000BTC then was $41.
- The FBI is said to have one of the biggest Bitcoin wallets. In October 2013, it discontinued the Silk Road which was a darknet website wherein the Bitcoin was being used for transactions to fund illicit drugs and illegal activities. So, all the wallets that the site owned were taken over; while the government auctioned some, they still have 1.5% of the global Bitcoin.
- Bitcoin is not totally anonymous. You may not have to give your personal details for transactions, like email addresses many trading strategies and tools, phone numbers, or names. You simply need a wallet address and private keys. However, the records are in a public ledger or blockchain that can be viewed by one and all. In case someone is aware of your Bitcoin address and manages to connect your ID to transactions over time, he can view your Bitcoin balance and the transactions you did. The perpetrator of the Mt. Gox attack, the biggest heist in the cryptocurrency world so far, was traced like this. Now automated trading apps are being used to trade bitcoin with more safety features. Visit https://bitcoinera.app/it for a detailed review of one of the trending automated bitcoin trading applications.
- You cannot touch or feel Bitcoin, unlike traditional fiat currency or paper money. Bitcoins can be mined using computers that are meant for solving complex cryptographic puzzles. Today, Bitcoin’s network is several hundred times more powerful compared to that of the leading supercomputers combined.
- There can be 21 million Bitcoins only and not anymore. The past Bitcoin is going to be mined in 2014; after this, there will be no more Bitcoins to mine.
- When you misplace your private key, you will lose all your Bitcoins. In traditional banks, you can retrieve the money even when you have forgotten your password. You simply have to reach out to your bank and provide them with your identity verification documents. But, in cryptocurrencies, you cannot retrieve the funds once you have lost your private keys. For instance, James Howells lost 7500 Bitcoins in 2013 and this was worth nearly $130 then. He had disposed of a hard disk containing the private keys by mistake. Now, the 7500 BTC would be worth almost $48 million.