The 13 curiosities around bitcoin.

Hello everybody! my name is @leomaryszabala, and today I bring you 13 curiosities about bitcoin. Today I want to share with you this publication of the author Daniel Moreno that I found very interesting. It is practically the beginning of what today we know as bitcoin, the cryptocurrency that has been very famous worldwide.

1 How much did a bitcoin cost in the beginning?

The reality is that when bitcoin (BTC) was created it had no comparable value to another currency. It could be said that its value was zero. It was in October 2009, after a few months, when the first transaction was made in which 1,309 bitcoins were exchanged for 1 dollar. In 2010 the cryptocurrency began to become popular and the first public exchanges were 1 BTC worth $ 0.003. That is, with 1 dollar you could get 333 bitcoins.

In December 2017 it reached its maximum listing price of 17,000 euros. Therefore, if 333 bitcoin had been acquired for 1 euro in 2009, they would have had a value as of December 2017 of 5,600,000 euros.

2 Who created bitcoin?

To this day, it still remains unknown. It is not known if it was a person or a group. However, it is known that the code name of its creators is Satoshi Nakamoto. It is estimated that they own 1 million bitcoins, being the ones who mined the first blocks of this cryptocurrency.

3 Can an individual buy and / or sell a cryptocurrency?

Yes, unlike other financial assets, you do not need to place purchase orders from a stockbroker or a bank. There are web platforms where you can buy and sell after registering with it. Once this step is done, an income is made to the account that the platform indicates to you and in a few days you have the money on that same platform (euro, dollar, etc.) to buy cryptocurrencies and later, if desired, sell them.

To sell, the destination current account will be entered on the platform and the amount indicated in euros will be received.

4 Do I have to pay taxes on the purchase and sale of bitcoins?

Bitcoin was born 9 years ago, but its popularity is recent. Therefore, there is still no specific regulation. However, there are tax obligations that must be met. In the first place, as with traditional currencies, their sale (without being effective in euros) are exempt from VAT. However, if you own bitcoins and want to sell, to obtain a profit in euros, you must report it in the Income Statement and pay the tax (19% for profits above 6,000 euros, 21% up to 50,000 euros and, from there, 23%).

5 Can you buy a fraction of bitcoin?

Yes. A bitcoin can be divided into one hundred million parts and the name they receive are "satoshis", in reference to its creator. Its minimum expression is 0.00000001 bitcoin. At a supposed price of 10,000 euros per bitcoin, with 10 euros you can buy 0.001 bitcoins. That is, according to the example set out in the previous question, you do not have to enter 10,000 euros in the platform, it would be enough with 10 euros or less to start buying.

6 Is bitcoin the same as cryptocurrency?

Cryptocurrency is the generic denomination that houses all digital currencies. That is, bitcoin is a cryptocurrency, but it is not the only one. Within the cryptocurrencies there are others, in addition to bitcoin, such as etherium, ripple, etc.

7 How many cryptocurrencies are there?

It is difficult to determine since new cryptocurrencies are created every week, although they do not have a market value compared to fiat money such as euros or other currencies. However, it is estimated that there are more than 1,000 cryptocurrencies today.

8 What is a wallet?

A wallet is a virtual cryptocurrency wallet. It is a computer program that allows you to save, receive or send cryptocurrencies. These can be free and work through an application on your computer or on your mobile or they can be paid which have a physical medium and is similar in size to a USB. This last alternative is the safest.

9 What is a cryptocurrency fork?

Forks are extensions of the original code of a cryptocurrency. Taking bitcoin as an example, when it was created it was made with open source. This allows any user to have access to the code, which does not mean that they can modify the original bitcoin code. However, as it is open, it can be used as a reference and try to improve it. This was the case in August 2017 when “Bitcoin Cash” (BCH), a fork of bitcoin, was created.

10 What is the blockchain?

It is the technology behind the operation of bitcoins. In general terms, it is the accounting book that stores all the transactions of most cryptocurrencies and that tries to prevent the same cryptocurrency from being used in several transactions, that is, it avoids double spending.

On the other hand, blockchain works with "nodes" that are in charge of verifying transactions and keeping a copy of the accounting records.

11 What companies allow payments in bitcoin?

Some private establishments already accept payments in bitcoin. Likewise, large companies such as Microsoft, Dell or Expedia can buy their products with bitcoins. Amazon does not allow this type of transaction yet, however, it has already registered the address “amazonbitcoin.com”.

12 What does it mean that bitcoin is decentralized?

That it is decentralized means that it is not backed or issued by any bank or government as is the case with the euro or the dollar. However, its production (mining) for a few years is centralized in China. A controversy that generates much debate.

13 What is the benefit of bitcoin having a limited supply of 21 million units?

Avoid overexposure of the cryptocurrency and prevent it from devaluing. It is true that it can be devalued if interest in it is lost and everyone who owns it wants to sell it and no one wants to buy. However, its purchasing power will never be devalued through an increase in supply, since it is limited to 21 million units. With a limited supply, possible inflation problems that it could generate are anticipated, as happened with the German mark in 1923.

There are currently 17 million bitcoins in circulation. With the current computing capacity, in charge of solving the algorithms for the creation of bitcoins, it will not be until after the year 2120 when the total offer is completed. The resolution of these algorithms increases in difficulty as the units of Bitcoins in circulation increase. So much so that it will take more than 100 years for the total offer to be completed.

There are many questions around this new form of currency. This brief approximation is a very small percentage of the universe encompassed by cryptocurrencies. Its volatility (rise and fall of prices) is very high and the easiest and most common is to lose what you have invested. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to tell us.

I think and believe that it is necessary to know and know where the smallest thing comes from, as well as in this opportunity to know how this cryptocurrency appeared in our lives.