Do Crypto Currencies scare you? Don’t know enough to even think what they will mean for the future?
With the recent move away from cash that the Covid pandemic is forcing upon us I think there will be a move into Crypto currencies – they are also not backed by individual Governments so this attracts some people to use them. The downside here is that a large percentage of the currencies are bought and therefore controlled by just a few very wealthy people ie Elon Musk has invested heavily in Bitcoin so when he buys and sells he alone can move the price!
I believe the change in use to making these everyday ways to pay is just around the corner, perhaps now is a good time to get involved!
A cryptocurrency is a digital or virtual currency that is secured by cryptography, which makes it nearly impossible to counterfeit or double-spend. Many cryptocurrencies are decentralized networks based on blockchain technology. Currently, there are more than 4000 cryptocurrency as of early 2021. Among them Bitcoin was the first blockchain based cryptocurrency which is most valuable and popular. Bitcoin was launched in early 2009 by its pseudonymous creator Satoshi Nakamoto.
Top Facts about Bitcoin
- Inventor of bitcoin is a mystery. It was launched under the pseudonym of Satoshi Nakamoto. Nobody knows who Satoshi was. Either it is a single person or organization.
- First transaction of bitcoin was done on 22 May 2010 to purchase Papa John’s Pizza with 10,000 BTC. At that time 10,000 BTC worth was $41. Now, 10,000 BTC worth is equivalent to 402.48 million pound.
- Bitcoin supply is finite. The supply of bitcoin Is limited to just 21 million
- In November 2013, A man named James Howells threw away a hard drive containing private keys of 7500 bitcoins which he had mined in 2010, now worth millions of pounds.
- Tesla bought $1.5 billion in bitcoin, plans to accept it as payment.
- Worldwide there are over 10,000 ATM machines that let users invest in bitcoin. Bitcoin ATM (abbreviated as BATM) work a little differently than traditional ATMs.
References:
About Cryptocurrency: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/cryptocurrency.asp
About Bitcoin : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bitcoin, https://www.coindesk.com/price/bitcoin
Facts : https://15facts.com/facts-about-bitcoin/
Tesla buys Bitcoin: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/08/tesla-buys-1point5-billion-in-bitcoin.html
