You’ve heard of Bitcoin right, you’ve been tempted to invest and make your millions too? Maybe you have a few stashed away and will soon cash them in and buy a yacht and large mansion and a Lamborghini. Well, whatever your bitcoin status is here is 6 facts you should know…
1. The first Bitcoin purchase was for guess it … pizza.
May 22 is Bitcoin Pizza Day!
In the very early days of bitcoin mining, they were essentially worthless. You could pick them up for literally cents! On May 22nd 2010 someone actually purchased a pizza using bitcoins. Two pizzas were exchanged by Papa Johns for 10,000 BTC, this being the first officially documented purchase using bitcoins. AT that time 10,000 BTC was worth only $41!
That’s around $25 million in today’s value.
2. Bitcoin is untraceable & Bitcoin is NOT untraceable.
When you make any transaction using bitcoin your identity is never used in any form whatsoever. Only your ‘public’ identity is visible. But there is a but…
The ‘blockchain’ is a ledger in a permanent form, this is transparent so if anyone knows your public address they could see the amount of bitcoins you hold and what transactions you have made. It is said this how the FBI found and captured the owner of Silk Road.
3. Bitcoins do not grow on trees.
Just like money bitcoins do not grow on trees! Of course, unlike money, you can never feel, touch or print bitcoin.
Bitcoins are mined on a network called the blockchain only existing when a miner finds and ‘mines’ bitcoin blocks. Currently, the mining power of the Bitcoin network is over 300 times more powerful than the 5 top supercomputers of the world combined!
4. 21 million bitcoins there can never be more.
Bitcoin’s supply is, of course, finite, it has to end somewhere right?
It’s true 21 million bitcoins is the limit, there can never ever be any more after that. Currently, around 16 million bitcoins have been mined and are being traded. It is predicted that the very last bitcoin will be mined around 2140. After that, there will be no new bitcoins that can be mined.
5. Bitcoin cannot be banned
Due to the nature of Bitcoin, there is always a talk about banning it. Bitcoin works outside the traditional banking system so attracts a lot of hostility. However, its design ensures that it cannot be banned however it can be regulated. If you have an internet connection and a bitcoin wallet you can invest in bitcoin.
This hasn’t stopped many countries trying to ban it. Bolivia, Thailand, Vietnam and Bangladesh, for example, have all tried. Other more accommodating countries such as Russia, Japan, Australia and Venezuela have made bitcoin legal tender and regulated it. Finally, some countries like India and the USA are not clear and have not defined an official policy regarding cryptocurrencies yet.
In short, Bitcoin can’t be buried or pushed away. That is the real beauty of Bitcoin!
6. You can load of great stuff with Bitcoin.
So what can you buy with bitcoins?
Here are just some of the goods you can buy with Bitcoin : Starbucks coffee, many online food, travel items, flight tickets, funeral items (only in USA), tesla cars, online gambling, luxury items, you even can support charities and many more!
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