5 Little-Known Facts About Bitcoin

It seems a virtual lifetime ago now that we once lived in a world without cryptocurrency options for payments. Many people have since come to learn a lot more about how Bitcoin works, its underlying blockchain technology, and a range of things that make it so interesting compared to fiat money. With most of Bitcoin’s famous facts now already known among traders and enthusiasts, here are five lesser-known facts about Bitcoin that are still pretty interesting.

1. The First Bitcoin Transaction Was for Pizza

One of the most pivotal moments in Bitcoin’s history came when it was used to buy two pizzas. That moment is now so famous because it was officially the first ever purchase that was made using Bitcoin as the payment method.

This may seem commonplace or uninteresting now because Bitcoin can be used to purchase so many things these days. In the modern world, Bitcoin has become a popular payment method, especially for online services, such as software subscriptions like Microsoft products and on eCommerce sites like Shopify.

In the iGaming sector, Bitcoin has been particularly embraced. Between its usefulness as an alternative payment method and blockchain technology’s growing possibilities, there’s now a wide range of specialized Bitcoin casinos to play on.

Among them, prominent ones like the Mega Dice crypto casino have been making huge waves by integrating crypto payments with the fun of online gambling. Now boasting millions of players worldwide, crypto casinos offer fewer restrictions, easier sign-ups, faster payments, and a more private gambling experience. With an ever-growing range of offshore crypto casinos attracting more players than ever, Bitcoin casinos are slowly becoming a go-to favorite for many iGamers.

It’s hard to imagine that all of this started way back on 22 May 2010 when Lazlo Hanyecz recorded the first-ever Bitcoin payment for goods. That transaction saw Lazlo, a programmer, pay 10,000 Bitcoins for two pizzas. Back then, that only amounted to around $41.

However, today, if you owned 10,000 Bitcoin, you would be a very wealthy person with crypto assets worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Among crypto enthusiasts,  this day is now celebrated annually as “Bitcoin Pizza Day,” a humorous yet poignant reminder of how far Bitcoin has come.

2. Satoshi Nakamoto’s Identity Remains a Mystery

Ever since Bitcoin was freely given to the world, the pseudonymous creator of it, known mysteriously as Satoshi Nakamoto, still remains a mystery. That doesn’t mean that his identity hasn’t supposedly been unmasked many times.

In Australia, computer scientist Craig Wright famously claimed to be Satoshi Nakamoto. In fact, he took this saga so far that he was eventually sued by a conglomerate of cryptocurrency stakeholders to confirm that he actually isn’t Satoshi so they could force him to stop wielding influence over the market by claiming to be him.

More recently, there’s also been a documentary released by HBO titled Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery which claims to have definitively unmasked the real Satoshi. However, the twist in this one is that the subject denies being Satoshi this time.

3. Only 21 Million Bitcoins Will Ever Exist

One of the best things about Bitcoin, that immediately got many professionals highly excited about its viability early on, was how well thought out it was. To that end, its mysterious creator seemed to have thought out every angle. One of the decisions made it clear that Bitcoin was the real deal, an actually decentralized currency that was beyond the whims of anyone seeking to use it for their own ends.

In that regard, one feature that made it unique and less like fiat currencies is that it comes with a limited amount. This is because its supply was limited, and there will only ever be 21 million Bitcoins as a result. This makes it similar to gold and contributes to its long-term value as an asset since it has built-in resistance to inflation.

As of now, over 19 million Bitcoins have already been mined, and the final Bitcoin is expected to be mined around the year 2140. This scarcity is one of the main reasons why Bitcoin hasn’t had much trouble being recognized as a legitimate alternative to fiat money.

4. Bitcoin Mining Uses More Energy Than Some Countries

By now, most people, whether they understand anything about Bitcoin or not, have heard of the term “Bitcoin mining”. This is the process that programmers use to create new Bitcoins created on its underlying blockchain system and verify transactions made using them.

The process isn’t as labor-intensive as regular mining but instead requires solving complex mathematical problems, which makes it highly energy-intensive. In fact, the total energy consumption of Bitcoin mining rivals that of entire countries.

In order to keep up with all this demand and the massive number of transactions that now occur daily as a result of them, the energy demand is enormous. The industry is actively working on ways to minimize its environmental footprint and become more sustainable.

However, it remains a sticky point since cryptocurrency was meant to be a way to bring humanity together amid all the division and animosity between people in the world today. Instead, for many, the environmental impact is a major problem that makes them turn away from it as it has caused a rift of its own kind among adopters.

5. Lost Bitcoins Are Gone Forever

Unlike traditional money, which can be recovered even if stolen electronically, lost Bitcoins are irretrievable. This is because Bitcoin is stored in digital wallets, and if you lose access to your wallet’s private key, there’s no way to recover your funds.

Some estimates say up to 20% of the existing Bitcoin supply—approximately 4 million Bitcoins—are permanently lost. These lost Bitcoins may belong to early adopters who discarded old hard drives or simply lost track of their keys. It’s incredible to think that such a vast fortune may be out there just lost and unable to be retrieved but this is the harsh reality of cryptocurrency ownership.

Conclusion

As you can see, there are many other intricacies to Bitcoin beyond some of its more well-known traits that have now become common knowledge. As one of the most exciting investment options out there, Bitcoin and cryptocurrency’s potential remains vast and mostly untapped. Time will tell how it all ends up. However, the complexities behind Bitcoin’s creation and its unique nature continue to make it intriguing regardless of how much influence it may go on to wield one day.