30 Interesting Facts About Bitcoin and Crypto

The rate of adoption of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies has seen a dramatic shift in pace in the past couple of years. With the inclusion of blockchain technology in nearly every industry, the trend seems poised to continue in the coming years.

In light of the meteoric rise of digital assets in recent years, let’s take a look at some Bitcoin and cryptocurrency trivia. We guarantee that some of the info included in the sections below will leave you speechless.

General Bitcoin and crypto statistics

Here are 15 general facts and statistics about Bitcoin and the broader blockchain sector:

1. The price of Bitcoin reached an all-time high in 2021, with the value exceeding $68,000 in November 2021.
2. Bitcoin price has increased by more than 540,000% in the last 10 years.
3. More than 300 million people around the world own or have used BTC or some other cryptocurrency at least once.
4. The Asian continent accounts for more than 50% of the world’s usage, with 160 million cryptocurrency users.
5. The Oceania continent has about 1 million cryptocurrency users.
6. The average daily trading volume on cryptocurrency exchanges is more than $100 billion.
7. 65% of cryptocurrency investors own Bitcoin.
8. Bitcoin and Ethereum make up 58% of the total market value.
9. With the memecoin rush that started in 2021, there are currently more than 20,000 different cryptocurrencies in existence.
10. A post about Bitcoin is posted on social media pages in every 3 seconds.
11. 6% of American citizens own Bitcoin.
12. India is the world’s #1 in cryptocurrency use, with over 100 million users.
13. There are now more than 39,000 cryptocurrency ATMs installed across 77 countries.
14. 58% of cryptocurrency owners are under the age of 34.
15. 36% of Bitcoin investors have an annual income of more than $100,000.

Energy and environmental stats of Bitcoin and crypto

Here are 15 energy and environment-related facts and statistics about Bitcoin and the broader blockchain sector:

1. 38% of Bitcoin mining activities are carried out in the United States.
2. As a byproduct of Bitcoin mining, nearly 38 kilotons of electronic waste are generated each year.
3. Between 0.9% and 1.7% of the daily energy consumption of the United States is related to cryptocurrency activities.
4. Global electricity consumed by crypto assets is about 0.3% of global annual greenhouse gas emissions.
5. Annual electricity generation for crypto assets results in a total of 140 million metric tons of carbon dioxide.
6. The Bitcoin network creates approximately 73 million tons of CO2 per year.
7. Crypto asset activity in the United States is estimated to emit 25 to 50 Mt CO2/y, or 0.4% to 0.8% of total U.S. emissions.
8. The Ethereum (ETH) network is estimated to had consumed 62.77 Terawatt-hours of energy per year, before the transition to Proof-of-Stake (PoS).
9. The average Ethereum transaction consumed 163 kilowatt-hours of power ahead of the Merge.
10. The Bitcoin network is estimated to generate 11.5 kilotons of e-waste each year.
11. About 22% of Bitcoin miners’ income goes toward electricity expenses.
12. 40% of the energy used in Bitcoin mining is recyclable energy.
13. The energy used in Bitcoin mining surpasses the electricity consumption of countries such as Austria and Portugal. 
14. The energy used in Bitcoin mining is equivalent to the energy used by 10 million homes each year.
15. Emissions from Bitcoin and crypto assets could push global warming above the +2°C target in the next 15 years, according to predictions from Mora et al.

Interesting stories about Bitcoin and crypto

The Million-Dollar Disk in the Wasteyard

When Bitcoin was first introduced in 2009, James Howells from Newport mined 8,000 BTC. He kept his Bitcoins on an external disk in his drawer for a while before forgetting about it and discarding it. When Howells realized his mistake in 2013, he went after the $7.5 million fortune in the garbage.

Howell requested a search and excavation permit from the local government council but did not receive a positive response. Even though he suggested one-fourth of the lost Bitcoins for excavation, he still did not receive any permission. Howell’s struggle continues as he seeks permission to excavate in the area where there are approximately 110,000 tons of waste.  The current market value of a momentary forgetfulness is more than $156 million.

The Million Dollar Pizzas

May 22, 2010, is known as Bitcoin pizza day in the crypto community. The origin of this event is based on the story that a computer programmer named Laszlo Hanyecz paid 10,000 Bitcoin for 2 large pizzas. Stating that he wanted to pay 10,000 Bitcoin for 2 pizzas on the Bitcointalk forum, Hanyecz agreed with another user from the forum and paid it.

Hanyecz’s pizzas have become increasingly expensive since the inception of Bitcoin. After ten months, Bitcoin had reached parity with the US dollar, and the value of these pizzas had risen to $10,000. Five years later, in 2015, the value of two pizzas reached 2.4 million dollars. Given that the BTC price is currently around 19.200 dollars, two pizzas are easily worth 192 million dollars.

Final thoughts

The cryptocurrency sector is a fascinating place. Hopefully, the statistics and interesting stories presented in this article helped paint a comprehensive picture of the nascent sector, which includes impressive technological breakthroughs on one end and downright unbelievable tidbits of information on the other.