Cryptocurrencies are an astonishing phenomenon of themselves. As soon as they were officially introduced to the world, they started to change the finance system, and this seems to be an ongoing trend. Furthermore, the blockchain that enables Bitcoin is able to transform industries, such as finance and healthcare.
If we put crypto characteristics aside for a moment, we can also see some interesting facts around the digital assets, especially around Bitcoin, which might be amusing for any crypto enthusiast.
20 % of Bitcoin has been lost
I guess anyone, interested in cryptocurrencies, knows that only 21 million Bitcoins can be produced. Actually, around 20% of Bitcoins have already been lost or stuck in wallets that can not be accessed. Today, that equates to about $190 billion.
Let’s have a deeper look at how this happened.
Well, about 1.1 million BTC is held by its creator, known as Satoshi Nakamoto. It is considered that he would never touch those coins.
Another reason for lost Bitcoins are lost digital wallet keys. They are like bank account PIN, and we need them to access our cryptocurrencies. If you already have a crypto wallet, you must know that there is no “forgot password” button. So, if you lose your key, you are losing any chance to access your wallet.
There are actually some stories of people who have lost their cryptos. A man in the U.K. for example is trying for years to get permission to search in his local garbage dump site, because he believes that his hard drive (with 7,500 BTC) is there.
There have been more than 660 million Bitcoin transactions
Since the launching of Bitcoin in 2009, there have been almost 668 million transactions. The number is increasing even more in recent years.
Actually, these days, the average number of transactions is more than 260 000 a day.
El Salvador accepted Bitcoin as legal tender
In September, this year, El Salvador became the first country to accept Bitcoin as a legal tender. The cryptocurrency will not replace the U.S. dollar, but will join it as an official form of payment. El Salvador even promised a $30 reward for anyone who opens a national digital wallet.
Anyway, many people protested against the plan and the World Bank refused to help the country, as there are many environmental and transparency concerns.
The number of Bitcoin millionaires is almost 100,000
Although we can’t know for sure how many Bitcoin millionaires there are, since their wallets are anonymous and the price of the cryptocurrency is volatile, we can still find information that there are a little less than 100,000 addresses with $1 million worth of Bitcoin.
This year, Forbes included 12 crypto billionaires on its Billionaires List.
The first Bitcoin purchase
I guess this is a well known fact, and yet I find it quite interesting. In 2010, a guy named Laszlo Hanyecz, paid 10,000 BTC ($41) for two pizzas. This was actually the first commercial transaction with cryptocurrency.
Today, that 10,000 BTC is worth over $500 million.
The last Bitcoin will not be mined until 2140
As we already have mentioned, only 21 million of Bitcoin will ever be produced, as it is written into its DNA. At the moment, about 18,8 million Bitcoins have been mined, and as we mentioned, some of them are already lost for good.
This means that more than 90% of the total possible Bitcoins is already mined, and the way it works, the number of Bitcoins that can be mined, gets halved every four years. That is why, it will take 120 years for the remaining 2.2 million coins to be mined.
If you think these facts are interesting, you can have a deeper look in our news section, and read even more about cryptocurrencies.
Cryptoarbi.com is an automated crypto arbitrage platform, developed to find the best trading opportunity, and turn it into your favor. All you have to do is choose a subscription plan, and we will do the work for you!