Blockchain is one of the hottest technologies of recent years, attracting many people to its development and applications. However, do you know that blockchain also has a number of little-known trivia besides the well-known use cases? Today, we will share 4 blockchain trivia you might not know.
Bitcoin Pizza Day
On May 22, 2010, American programmer Laszlo Hanyecz used 10,000 bitcoins to buy two pizzas. At the time, the price of Bitcoin was only about $0.004, so this transaction did not attract much attention. However, with the popularity and price surge of Bitcoin, May 22 is now known as "Bitcoin Pizza Day" in the cryptocurrency circle. Although this transaction caused Laszlo to indirectly lose billions of dollars, he said generously that he was proud to be able to "leave a name in history."
Blockchain technology was invented before Bitcoin
Many people think that blockchain technology was invented at the same time as Bitcoin, but in fact, blockchain technology was invented before Bitcoin. As early as 1991, American cryptographers Stuart Haber and W.Scott Stornetta proposed a technology called "timestamping," which is the prototype of blockchain technology. It wasn't until 2008 that Satoshi Nakamoto published the "Bitcoin White Paper" and renamed the technology blockchain. Since then, blockchain technology has officially been combined with Bitcoin.
The name "Blockchain" comes from Lego blocks
The name "Blockchain" seems to have some connection with the toy game Lego. In fact, the founder of blockchain, Satoshi Nakamoto, was inspired by Lego blocks to name it "Blockchain." Lego blocks are known for their interlocking and configurability, and blockchain technology also has similar features. The data blocks (block) on the blockchain are like Lego blocks that can be interconnected to form an unalterable "chain."
Blockchain technology poses environmental problems
Although blockchain technology has many advantages, it also brings some concerns, one of which is environmental problems. The mining process of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies requires a lot of computing resources, which leads to increased power consumption and carbon emissions. It is estimated that Bitcoin mining consumes an annual electricity equivalent to the electricity consumption of a medium-sized country, and has generated a large amount of carbon emissions. To address this issue, some blockchain developers are researching more environmentally friendly mining methods, such as using renewable energy or reducing mining difficulty.
Additional side note: Blockchain P2P technology may be inspired by dolphins
In addition to toys, blockchain may also be inspired by creatures in the natural world. Blockchain's P2P technology (Peer-to-Peer) is a point-to-point network transmission method. Compared with centralized networks, P2P networks are more decentralized and secure. This technology may be inspired by the way dolphins communicate. Dolphins communicate by emitting high-frequency sound waves, which can travel far and are not disturbed. Blockchain's P2P technology also has similar features: it has strong scalability and anti-interference capabilities.
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