Guinness World Records, (GWR), has published an annual reference book since 1955 that includes world records ranging from extreme natural phenomena to human achievements. This year, Bitcoin has entered the fray as the world’s first and most valuable cryptocurrency network as GWR has added the subject to this year’s annual records.
Satoshi Nakamoto’s Bitcoin Enters the Guinness Book of World Records
Satoshi Nakamoto’s cryptocurrency and blockchain network, Bitcoin, has received a number of accolades over the years, and it’s been recognized by mainstream media sources and traditional mediums. For instance, in 2016, the word “bitcoin” was added to the Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary, and two years later it entered the Scrabble lexicon. This year, Guinness World Records (GWR) has given recognition to Satoshi Nakamoto’s invention as bitcoin is considered the “first decentralized cryptocurrency.”
Guinness World Records has been officially recording records from extreme natural and human achievements for more than 67 year. Records indicate that the Guinness World Records first edition was number one on December 1955’s best-sellers list. This book contains an extensive catalog of records and verified world records that are tied to many artists and record-breaking feats. Sir Hugh Beaver was the original manager of Guinness Brewery and inspired the creation of a book.
While It’s an Achievement for Bitcoin, Guinness World Records Summary Contains Errors
The summary of bitcoin featured in the latest Guinness World Records describes how the project’s white paper was published online in 2008, and the Guinness authors say Bitcoin was “developed as a solution to the challenge of regulating a digital currency without any centralized organization, or ‘trusted third party,’ to oversee transactions.” The GWR authors further detail that the network Satoshi Nakamoto created solved the double spending problem. GWR records for 2022 state:
Bitcoin network [solves] the double spend problem with a “trustless” mechanism that does not require any third-party (e.g., banks) to verify transactions; and it achieves that with validators (i.e., miners, in PoW.) Computers that are dedicated to the network of validators and preventing bad actors from entering transactions, called miners.
The category GWR researchers put Bitcoin in is “first,” as in the “First decentralized cryptocurrency.” The date recorded for the record-breaking “first” is January 3, 2009, the day Bitcoin launched. The GWR addition is a significant achievement. However, GWR researchers may be wrong about some factoids.
For example, it has recorded the wrong date of publication for the original Bitcoin white paper which was on October 31, 2008, and it erroneously cites Satoshi Nakamoto as having 600,000 BTC in a single wallet that “has been inactive for more than a decade.” This information is factually incorrect as Nakamoto’s stash does not reside in a single wallet and the BTC held by the inventor is estimated to be around 1 million BTC as opposed to the 600,000 BTC quoted by GWR.
How do you feel about Bitcoin’s inclusion on the Guinness World Records as the first decentralized cryptocurrency. Please comment below to let us know your thoughts on this topic.
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