1. A small step for Crypto: Bitcoin has been sent to space - more than once
In 2016, Bitcoin set its sights from global to intergalactic. Cloud provider Genesis Mining tied a Bitcoin paper wallet and a physical model of a Bitcoin to a weather balloon and sent it into the stars (using a GoPro to capture this momentous occasion), with successful transactions being made as high as 34 km altitude. Four years later, SpaceChain (a UK crypto firm) took this to the next level and secured a bitcoin transfer of 0.0099 with their orbiting International Space Station-hosted (ISS) hardware.
2. Crypto is even used to build games, with one of the first being CryptoKities; a game built on the Ethereum blockchain
CryptoKitties was one of the earliest attempts of leveraging blockchain technology for recreation and leisure and an early indicator of the potential and utility that Ethereum would provide. In the week after the release of the game, ETH registered a 10% increase in purchases. The game itself allows you to amass an army of digital kitties, an idea that many people are (understandably) wholly in love with since the price of a CryptoKitty can be anywhere between $60 to $300,000.
3. Anyone with access to a computer and the internet can create a cryptocurrency
While creating a new cryptocurrency is more complex than just owning a computer, it doesn’t change the underlying fact that any Joe or Jane can create a crypto coin or token. A significant differentiation is that a new coin requires a new blockchain to be created. In contrast, a new token can be made on an existing blockchain like Ethereum, which can be much easier and viable for most people aspiring to be a cryptocurrency founder.
4. The smallest unit of a bitcoin is called Satoshi
Satoshi was coined out of respect for the mysterious creator of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakomoto (alias). To make one bitcoin, you need a hundred million satoshis. These small denominations facilitate smaller transactions and make finer transactions more readable. An amusing ‘benefit’ of this is that someone saying they own a million satoshis sounds slightly more impressive than saying they own 0.01 of a bitcoin - despite the value being the exact same.
5. In 2015, a micronation called Liberland that uses crypto as their official currency was founded
Officially called the Free Republic of Liberland, it was proclaimed on 13 April 2015 by Vít Jedlička, a politician, publicist, and activist. It is located between Croatia and Serbia and is a country built upon the blockchain. Initially, they proclaimed bitcoin as their national currency. This has since then changed to Merit, their unique crypto token (built on the Bitcoin Cash chain). Fittingly, their motto is ‘Live and Let Live’ with minimal laws and government regulation, and they are even looking to set up a legal system founded on the blockchain.
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