Bitcoin has taken the world by storm with the innovations it brings in finance and technology. But beyond the characteristics the entire world knows, including the fact that you can buy Bitcoin p2p, there are also some lesser-known facts about the virtual coin that might blow your mind. From its mysterious creator and astonishing achievements, Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency full of surprises.
On the other hand, Ethereum is the second-largest virtual coin by market cap. It is primarily known for its decentralized applications and smart contract capabilities. And like Bitcoin, Ethereum also surprises through its unique features.
In this article, we delve into some interesting facts about Ethereum and Bitcoin that will surely surprise you.
Here are some interesting facts about Bitcoin
Bitcoin has an elusive creator
Bitcoin was created by a person or a group of people under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto, who introduced it to the world in a whitepaper published in 2008. Still, the creator’s true identity remains anonymous worldwide. Although numerous attempts have been made to discover who is behind the name Satoshi, it remains one of the most exciting enigmas in the cryptocurrency industry.
The lost fortune of James Howells
James Howells is a British IT worker who became popular worldwide after he discarded a hard drive with his Bitcoin wallet. Unfortunately, the hard drive ended up in the landfills, and he could never recover it, so his Bitcoins were lost forever. The wallet contained around 7,500 bitcoins, currently worth millions of dollars, which would have made Howells a multimillionaire. The story of James Howells can be a cautionary tale for future investors that highlights the importance of storing cryptocurrencies safely.
Bitcoin was widely adopted in an Irish Village
Sneem is a small Irish village that received international acclaim in 2014 for embracing Bitcoin. This happened because Richard Branson, a local hotelier, and his BitPay team collaborated to create the first Bitcoin-friendly village in the world. This initiative aims to attract more tourists interested in paying with digital coins. As a result, 802 villagers started accepting Bitcoin as a form of payment, proving their openness to innovation and pioneering spirit.
Bitcoin Pizza Day
In May 2010, Laszlo Hanyecz marked a historic moment in the history of Bitcoin by making the first world transaction using Bitcoin. He became famous worldwide as he exchanged 10,000 Bitcoins for only two Papa John’s pizzas. This transaction is a testament to the early use of Bitcoin and highlights the tangible use of digital assets daily. Bitcoin Pizza Day is an important moment celebrated annually by the crypto community as a reminder that Bitcoin had a humble beginning but succeeded in gaining mainstream recognition.
China dominated Bitcoin Mining
China played a significant role in the early days of Bitcoin mining and became a leader in all mining operations. It was even estimated that China had approximately 60% of the entire Bitcoin mining activity worldwide because it had favorable conditions for the operation, including access to specialized mining hardware and cheap electricity. However, China’s position on digital coins has changed over time, and with the regulatory changes, there was also a shift in mining operations.
Surprising facts about Ethereum
Ethereum is the first smart blockchain
Bitcoin is the largest blockchain with its own currency, BTC, but it lacks the capability of building dApps or running smart contracts. The founders of Ethereum realized this and developed a blockchain to overcome all Bitcoin’s shortcomings, including the possibility of developing dApps and smart contract computations. All projects built on the Ethereum blockchain aim to improve security, scalability, and consensus while also reducing gas fees.
Ethereum was crowdfunded
Back in the early days, when people knew very little about Bitcoin and the blockchain technology was still new, a bright young man named Vitalik Buterin had the idea of creating a blockchain called Ethereum. He wanted this blockchain to enable the creation of dApps and perform smart contracts computations. However, he still encountered a major problem: funds. But the issue was solved soon, as he and his co-founders decided to crowdfund this project. Luckily, the crowdfunding campaign was successful, and the Ethereum team collected the funds in 2 months, from July to August 2014, and on 30th July 2015, the project finally came to life. Crowdfunding was regarded as a good decision by the board because it saved them from the influence of external agents.
Ethereum is not the name of the native virtual coin
Although the name of the overall network is Ethereum, its native cryptocurrency is called – Ether or ETH for short. ETH is fully decentralized by cryptography, which verifies and secures all transactions, so every coin on the platform can be divisible up to 18 decimal places, which is good news for those who want to invest in Ether but don’t afford to spend too much money upfront. So, if you want to invest in ETH, keep in mind that you can buy as little as 0.0000000000000001 ETH.
Ethereum is 100% open-source
Ethereum appeals to numerous app developers because it is an open-source platform with its own programming language, Solidity, which facilitates the creation of dApps. Solidity is primarily influenced by other existing programming languages, such as C++, Python and JavaScript to enable app developers to create scalable applications that run on the Ethereum Virtual Machine (EVM).
Conclusion
Both Ethereum and Bitcoin can easily captivate the attention of the public with the above mind-blowing facts that show all their technological advances, global impact and cultural significance. As both virtual coins continue to shape the financial landscape, they will surely create more fascinating stories to cement their place in the crypto space.
