Crypto is from the 80s
One of the most common misconceptions about cryptocurrency is that it is a fledgling invention, born somewhere around 2010’s. Few people know that the idea of applying cryptography to money was elaborated in 1983 by David Lee Chaum, the well-known American computer scientist and cryptographer, who also laid the ground for the Cypherpunk, an underground movement that stands at the origin of Bitcoin.
The creator of Bitcoin might have been a criminal
Satoshi Nakamoto is a household name for crypto enthusiasts, however, the true identity of the ‘father of Bitcoin’ is still undiscovered. Nakamoto’s own bio suggests that he is a middle-aged Japanese male, but that’s hardly believable. Speculations regarding this subject are as strong as ever: one of the recent publications claim that Nakamoto’s real name is Paul Solotshi Calder de Roux, who is known for being a notorious cybercriminal and a mastermind behind the creation of TrueCrypt, a piece of software Satoshi used to stash 1 million Bitcoin.
Not all cryptocurrencies are blockchain-enabled
If you thought that the blockchain technology lies at the core of all cryptocurrencies, prepare to be dazed and amazed. Ripple, the 3rd strongest cryptocurrency in terms of market capitalization and daily trading volume, doesn’t have its own blockchain. Instead, it uses the patented Ripple Protocol Consensus Algorithm (RPCA) to verify all network transactions.
Fast ICOs, the lightning-fast IEOs
As you probably know, ICO stands for Initial Coin Offering which is organized when a project wants to sell its tokens to investors. Usually, an ICO lasts for a couple of weeks to several months. But some of them manage to get the job done in a matter of seconds. The sale of Basic Attention Token (BAT) lasted no more than 30 seconds, during which the project raised $30 million. But that is sluggishly slow compared to IEOs, the Initial Exchange Offerings, the token sales that take place on crypto exchanges. The sale of MultiVAC (MTV) tokens lasted only two seconds and generated $3.6 million. But the champion of them all was Blockcloud (BLOC): this project collected $1 million in token purchases in just one second.
Bitcoin Pizza Day
How much would you pay for two pizzas? Regardless of what you would say, Laszlo Hanyecz had already beaten this price by millions. Back in 2010, this guy made the first-ever documented purchase of a good with Bitcoin. He ordered two large pizzas from the nearby Papa John’s joint, for which he paid 10.000 BTC. Fast forward to the present time, these two pizzas are worth around $85 million – not even Jeff Bezos would have paid this kind of money for a savory dish.
Crypto betting is the new talk of the town
If you don’t want to follow the example of Hanyecz and spend cryptocurrency on different trifles, you could consider placing wagers in crypto as it is gaining more and more popularity. According to the official statistics, over the last five years, players wagered around $4.5 billion in Bitcoin. A substantial portion of those wagers must have come to 1xBit, the all-for-crypto betting platform that provides not only full anonymity and security of deposit/withdrawals, but also a host of lucrative offers and bonuses, such a welcome package up to 7 BTC, regular promotions, and great tournaments.