By now many people have heard about Bitcoin even if they don’t use the virtual currency. As Bitcoin gains prominence people are learning more about how cryptocurrencies work as well as what makes it unique from other payment options. People are finding very creative ways to use Bitcoin, which has led to some interesting stories and facts.
Bitcoin Blasts Into Outer Space
Last year, Genesis Mining made history by sending Bitcoin into outer space. The crypocurrency mining company created a YouTube video explaining how the event went down. Genesis Mining worked with Sentintospace.com to make the intergalactic, peer-to-peer monetary transaction possible.
Genesis Mining first created a 3D model of a Bitcoin that was affixed to a weather balloon. The Bitcoin and balloon reached a height of 34 kilometers, which is outside of the stratosphere.
10,000 Bitcoin Pizza Worth $17 Million Today
Just like gold and other forms of currency, Bitcoin fluctuates in value. For example, in October 2009 less than a year after Bitcoin’s creation the trade rate was $1 for 1,309BTC.
Today, bitcoins are valued at a much higher rate than they were in 2010 when Laszlo Hanyecz used bitcoins to order two pizzas worth about $25. The transaction equated to 10,000 bitcoins at the time. Had he foregone the pizza craving and held onto those bitcoins they’d be valued at about $17 million. The transaction is also notable because it’s the first known instance of someone buying something tangible with bitcoins.
The Bitcoin Creator Was Anonymous . . . in the Beginning
Most people who come up with a revolutionary form of currency would want people to know what they accomplished. But it was an anonymous individual going by the name Satoshi Nakamoto that’s credited with creating Bitcoin. Some have speculated that the anonymity was intentional to allow the creator to profit from bitcoins since they were able to efficiently mine them early on. Some have speculated that Satoshi mined a total of 1 million bitcoins in the infancy of the crytocurrency.
