Crypto History: Solving Captchas to Earn Bitcoin

GM Readers!📪 It's BitDegree Insider, and can you smell that Web3 in the air?

⭐️Today's selection:

• 😎Cool Fact Derby
• 👌Selected Meme of The Day
• 📰Bite-Sized News

COOL FACT DERBY

Yeah, it's Tuesday. It's time for some cool stuff. Let's talk about the unusual, the unique, the interesting, and the eyebrow-raising!

FACT #1

"Solve the captcha, get 5 Bitcoin".

Exactly such an offer was made 12 years ago. The offer was made to… Everyone.

Quite obviously, it's an offer you can't refuse. But not many people knew what Bitcoin is back then…

But there were more than enough people who didn't ignore this opportunity.

This was the idea of an American software developer Gavin Andresen. He gave away 19,700 Bitcoin. Today, that's over $530 million.

A bit of history.

This offer looked like this. People were invited to visit a website called freebitcoins.

Once there, people were asked to solve a captcha. You solve the captcha = you get 5 Bitcoin.

And… you were allowed to repeat this every day.

For the faucet to work, Andresen put in his own 1,100 Bitcoin.

After they were distributed, the faucet was replenished again, with the participation of the first Bitcoin miners and whales.

Imagine solving captchas for a few weeks, and then living as a millionaire for the rest of your life.

TL;DR: Twelve years ago, software developer Gavin Andresen offered 5 Bitcoin for solving captchas on the faucet website "freebitcoins." Participants could earn up to 5 Bitcoin per day.

FACT #2

Binance's Oopsie

Just yesterday, Binance was transferring funds from its cold wallet to a new address.

But… Their social media manager made a funny (or menacing, even) typo.

Imagine if they transferred to a wrong address…

It's interesting how exchange admins and whales manage not to freeze from fear whenever they get to transfer tens of thousands of Bitcoin in one transaction.

Well, sending 0.00001 Bitcoin to check whether the transaction actually happens… might be an effective way of preventing mistakes.

TL;DR: Binance's social media manager made a typo when sharing the address of Binance's new wallet. 

FACT #3

"Satoshi Nakamoto" "appears" on TV

In early May, a report aired on CNBC about a natural disaster in Virginia Beach.

The area was significantly affected by a tornado. But the interesting part is that the video mentions Satoshi Nakamoto, the mysterious "father" of Bitcoin.

Below is a screenshot from the original video.

In the upper right corner, you can notice the caption "Satoshi Nakamoto".

Turns out, the author of the video gave it to the media with one condition. If the footage is gonna be aired - this name has to be written on the screen.

The video was filmed by a user who calls herself a Bitcoin enthusiast, as well as a coach. This is how she commented on the publication of the video:

"I posted a video of the tornado that hit us hard on Sunday (April 30th). Journalists liked the video, they asked to use it for the report. I agreed, but with one condition - it should mention Satoshi Nakamoto. They agreed."

Despite the fact that several houses were damaged by the tornado and 2,000 people were left without electricity, fortunately, there were no casualties.

Who are you, Satoshi Nakamoto?

This is one of the greatest mysteries in the cryptocurrency community.

On April 23, 2011, Nakamoto essentially abandoned his work on Bitcoin, switching "to other things".

TL;DR: One person recorded the aftermath of natural disasters in Virginia Beach. Journalists used the footage, and the author demanded to add a mention of Satoshi Nakamoto. The journalists agreed.

SELECTED MEME OF THE DAY

BITE-SIZED NEWS

• Crypto.com's Internal Trading Practices Stir Controversy Yet Uphold Legality. The crypto exchange holds firm that proprietary trading does not act as its primary revenue stream.
• Unknown Buyer to Pay $3M for SBF-Linked Property in Washington, DC. The property was previously owned by Sam Bankman-Fried brother's nonprofit firm "Guarding Against Pandemics."
• Crypto Investment Products Continue to Experience Significant Outflows. Although minor inflows were recorded, it wasn't enough to turn the tide.