12 Fascinating Facts about Bitcoin
A new year is a time for people to reflect on new resolutions and changes they want to make, and finances are no exception. Nearly 97 million Americans have plans to make a resolution in the year 2021, according to a recent survey by WalletHub. Many people choose to attempt financial resolutions to change their financial future for the better and establish better habits when it comes to money.
As 2023 begins, consider establishing a few financial resolutions of your own to help improve the way your money can work for you in the new year. Here are a few of the most popular financial resolutions people often make at the start of a new calendar year.
- No One Knows Who Created Bitcoin
Who created Bitcoin? No one knows. The digital currency appeared seemingly overnight out of the hands of someone named Satoshi Nakamoto. No one knows whether Satoshi Nakamoto is a person, a group of people, or an organization. What we do know, however, is that Satoshi holds roughly 1 million bitcoins.
2. There’s a Limited Supply
Another surprising fact about Bitcoin is that there is a limited supply. In other words, eventually, there will be no more bitcoins for investors to buy.
There are a total of 21 million bitcoins available. Out of that number, miners have already harvested 19 million. With only 2 million remaining, it won’t be long before the supply runs out.
3. Bitcoin Rules the Black Market
When we think of Bitcoin, most of us think of investment portfolios and retirement funds. However, Bitcoin also has a strong presence on the black market.
Because bitcoins can’t be traced like normal currency, they’re ideal for cybercriminals. Luckily, the government is on top of bitcoin transactions and has seized hundreds of thousands of bitcoins used in illegal sales.
4. Bitcoin Can Be Traded on PayPal
PayPal, a popular personal finance platform, recently announced that users will be able to trade bitcoin through their service, making it even more accessible to the amateur investor. What’s more, PayPal is planning to extend this service to its additional platforms. That means that pretty soon investors will be able to buy and sell bitcoin on Venmo.
5. The First Bitcoins Were Used to Buy Pizza
With the current value of bitcoin sitting at just over $41,000, it’s hard to believe that the first bitcoins were used to buy pizza.
In 2010, an early bitcoin owner used 10,000 bitcoins to order two pizzas. Today, that purchase would be worth more than $417 million.
6. A Man Once Threw Away Thousands of Bitcoins
In 2013 a man named James Howells of Wales had an old hard drive that contained more than 7,500 bitcoins. However, he didn’t foresee a future for the currency. As such, he decided to throw the hard drive away, losing out on millions of dollars today. Now, he’s trying to get his city council to let him excavate local landfills in an attempt to find it. 
7. Bitcoin Projections Could Reach $500,000
Bitcoin is a cryptocurrency that’s seen quite a bit of fluctuation since it was first invented. However, despite that fluctuation, it still seems to be growing.
Experts predict that the currency could eventually reach a sale price of $500,000. Some analysts are projecting Bitcoin prices over $1,000,000! That would mean huge payouts for anyone who’s taken the time to invest in bitcoin, or starts buying today.
8. Companies Are Investing in Bitcoin
While bitcoin is mostly talked about among individual investors, they’re certainly not the only ones with their eyes on the currency. Many large corporations are starting to invest in bitcoin to earn extra cash for their business operations.
One such company is MicroStrategy Inc., which bought more than $400 million in bitcoin to beat inflation. This money is now stored in the organization’s private treasury.
9. Not All Companies Allow Bitcoin
The cryptocurrency market is thriving in the United States, but the same can’t be said for every country in the world. In fact, several nations have banned the purchase and sale of bitcoin, including Bolivia, Qatar, Vietnam, and Afghanistan. It looks like some other countries might be following suit shortly due to the currency’s decentralized nature. However, in June of 2021, El Salvador adopted Bitcoin as an officially accepted second national currency. Other nations are expected to follow their lead.
10. Bitcoin Mining Requires Tons of Energy
One of the few disadvantages of bitcoin is the amount of energy required to mine it. Bitcoin mining takes up as much energy as a medium-sized country. Machines that run the software used to mine bitcoin are big energy consumers. That is one reason why so few people spend their time mining bitcoin. However, studies show that global video gamers eat up 40-50% more electricity than global Bitcoin miners, and no one complains about them. Also, upwards of 30-40% of the electricity used to mine Bitcoins is from renewable sources, while almost none of the electricity used for gaming is from renewable sources.
11. Some Bitcoin Is Lost
Aside from the bitcoins that have yet to be mined, some haven’t been touched. Roughly 20 percent of the total supply of bitcoin has been lost or is otherwise inaccessible. It’s unknown if the world will ever have access to it. So the supple of available Bitcoins is even smaller than most people think.
12. Cybercriminals Steal Bitcoin
While Bitcoin is certainly a safe way to keep track of money, it’s not entirely protected from cybercriminals. Back in 2020, several cybercriminals were able to break into celebrity bank accounts and steal roughly 400 bitcoin payments.
Invest in Cryptocurrency Today
Investing in cryptocurrency is a great way to set aside a nest egg for the future. With so many cryptocurrencies on the rise, it’s a great way to make some extra cash and keep up with an increasingly digital world. Also, more importantly, cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin can act as an inflation hedge against the printing of too many dollars, euros, yen, and all other fiat currencies.
