10 Surprising Facts About Cryptocurrency!

Cryptocurrencies were in the headlines in 2021, which led to a growing interest in learning how to buy cryptocurrency and figuring out easy ways to buy bitcoin. It’s no surprise that some investors are hoping to learn more about how digital assets work. But with cryptocurrencies, sometimes the truth can be stranger than fiction.
📌Here are some pretty interesting cryptocurrency facts that you might not be aware of:
✅The first commercial bitcoin transaction was for pizza:
On May 22, 2010, a man in Florida paid 10,000 bitcoins (BTC) for two pizzas. This is generally recognized as the first bitcoin transaction for a commercial purpose.
At the time, 10,000 bitcoins were worth about $40, making one bitcoin worth a little less than half a cent. If you had that number of bitcoins in September 2022, you'd be a bitcoin millionaire. 10,000 bitcoins have a market value of more than $190 million.
✅There are more than 12,000 cryptocurrencies in existence:
As of September 2022, there are more than 12,000 digital currencies in existence. While you can’t buy them all on an exchange, they are out there, some of them requiring their own wallets. This includes many altcoins such as USD coin (USDC), XRP (XRP), solana (SOL), Binance USD (BUSD), and more.
✅One man wants to excavate a landfill to get his digital wallet back:
In 2013, James Howells, who lives in Wales, U.K., threw out a hard drive with 7,500 bitcoins on it. When he realized how much the value of Bitcoin had shot up in recent years, he went looking for the drive. Now, he’s trying to get his local city council to allow him to excavate the landfill in an attempt to find the drive. He’s claiming to offer a portion of the proceeds if the city allows him to look through the trash.
✅Ethereum fees are referred to as gas:
When using the ethereum blockchain to complete transactions, you’re required to pay for gas. On the ethereum network, gas represents the computational effort used to complete the transaction.
Using the network for apps or transactions, even if it’s converting another coin to ether, means you need to pay for gas. Depending on the transaction and traffic on the blockchain, gas fees can feel quite high in some cases.
✅CryptoKitties is one of the first blockchain games:
CryptoKitties, one of the first blockchain games, offers a way to breed one-of-a-kind digital cats. CryptoKitties aren’t a currency — instead, they’re part of the non-fungible token (NFT) world.
✅Dogecoin started as a joke:
One of the hottest cryptocurrencies in 2021 was dogecoin (DOGE), as its market capitalization grew, in part due to support from Elon Musk. However, this cryptocurrency started out as a joke.
✅Elon Musk has a lot of pull when it comes to cryptocurrency prices:
One person has contributed to huge swings in cryptocurrency prices in 2021 — Elon Musk. When he tweets or talks about cryptocurrencies, the market listens. Or at least his devoted followers do.
Musk has impacted the price of bitcoin, dogecoin, and the cryptocurrency market as a whole, just by making pronouncements about what coins Tesla will accept for car purchases and making comments on Saturday Night Live.
✅China used to account for about 65% of cryptocurrency mining:
In May 2021, China proposed consequences for telecommunications companies and others that use their equipment for mining. By August 2021, China had been so effective at cracking down, that the country's share of the global hash rate had fallen to zero.
✅Cryptocurrency prices are extremely volatile:
Cryptocurrency prices are punctuated by wide swings in price. It’s not uncommon for a coin to lose 30% to 50% of its value overnight — and then log huge gains a few days later. It’s a new asset class, and people are trying to figure out how to value various coins.
✅You still have to pay taxes on your crypto gains:
If you invest in cryptocurrencies and see gains, you will have to pay capital gains taxes. Depending on how you manage your cryptocurrencies and how you got them, you might have to pay taxes based on long-term or short-term investment gains or as income.