10 Incredible and Little-Known Facts About Bitcoin That Will Surprise You
The first real-world Bitcoin transaction took place on May 22, 2010, when programmer Laszlo Hanyecz bought two pizzas for 10,000 BTC, worth about $30 at the time, but now valued at hundreds of millions of dollars. May 22 is celebrated annually as Bitcoin Pizza Day.
In 2013, Briton James Howells accidentally threw away a hard drive containing 7,500 BTC, and he is now trying to recover it from a landfill; as of 2025, this treasure is estimated to be worth over $900 million. On August 4, reports emerged that James Howells had halted the search for the hard drive holding 7,500 Bitcoins. However, he refuted these rumors, announcing the creation of a token that would legally secure his rights to the lost cryptocurrency assets. Recall that in April, the American media company Lebul acquired exclusive rights to develop and produce Howells’ story.
The creator of Bitcoin, known as Satoshi Nakamoto, remains anonymous, and their identity is still unknown; it is believed they hold around 1 million BTC. It is estimated that Satoshi controls between 600,000 and 1.1 million BTC (approximately $135 billion as of July 2025), spread across multiple dormant addresses, each with 50 BTC rewards. Here is the address of the genesis block: 1A1zP1eP5QGefi2DMPTfTL5SLmv7DivfNa (the first Bitcoin block, mined on January 3, 2009).
In 2010, a coding error led to the creation of 184 billion BTC, but the issue was fixed within 5 hours, erasing the error from the blockchain. This incident became a significant test for Bitcoin and demonstrated the community’s and developers’ ability to quickly address critical vulnerabilities.
The Bitcoin network has operated with 99.99% uptime since its inception, making it one of the most reliable systems in the world. Since 2013, the Bitcoin network has had zero downtime. This means over a decade of 100% uptime. Thanks to its decentralized architecture with no single point of failure, Bitcoin is one of the most resilient and reliable computing networks in the world, surpassing the reliability metrics of many major tech companies and traditional financial institutions.
Bitcoin was used to bypass the banking blockade of WikiLeaks in 2011, highlighting its role as a censorship-resistant currency. After publishing classified documents, payment systems like Visa, MasterCard, and PayPal imposed a banking blockade on WikiLeaks, effectively halting donations. This showcased Bitcoin’s censorship resistance: as a decentralized network not controlled by any government or financial institution, Bitcoin allowed WikiLeaks to circumvent the financial blockade. It also underscored its role as a “free” currency, serving as a tool for funding projects facing politically motivated financial censorship.
Transactions worth over $1 billion: Transactions exceeding $1 billion in value occur regularly on the Bitcoin network due to the rising BTC price. There have even been instances of transactions moving several billion dollars (e.g., transfers from exchange wallets). One such transaction incurred a fee of just $700.
Former Bitcoin developer Martti Malmi mined 55,000 BTC on his laptop in 2009–2010 and sold them by 2012, missing out on a potential $4 billion. He joined Satoshi Nakamoto in 2009, contributing to the development of early versions of Bitcoin Core and creating the first bitcoin.org website. He sold most of his 55,000 BTC by the end of 2012 at prices ranging from a few dollars to $15–$30 per coin. With those funds, he bought an apartment in Helsinki, a significant purchase for a 22-year-old. Martti Malmi has publicly stated he does not regret the sale, believing his contribution to the network’s early development was more important than personal wealth.
Since 2009, the Bitcoin network has settled over $10 trillion in value, with approximately $7.5 trillion of that after 2018, without the involvement of banks or financial intermediaries. In 2021, the annual volume of settled transactions exceeded $13 trillion (including exchange transfers). Bitcoin has become one of the largest payment systems in the world by total transfer volume, alongside Visa and SWIFT.
Bitcoin’s blockchain is broadcast via satellites through the Blockstream Satellite project, covering regions without internet access to counter potential shutdowns. Launched in 2017, Blockstream Satellite transmits the Bitcoin blockchain from orbit to Earth via several geostationary satellites. This means anyone on the planet with a satellite dish and receiver can access blockchain data without an internet connection. It provides protection against censorship and shutdowns—even if a government or provider blocks the internet, the Bitcoin protocol remains accessible. Using the Lightning Network, Bitcoin transactions can even be sent via satellite, with Blockstream creating a dedicated API for this. Users can send messages through the satellite channel (anonymously, for a fee in satoshis).