Crypto

Bitcoin Makes its Debut in the Guinness Book of Records

  • The record recognized Bitcoin as the first decentralized cryptocurrency.
  • Manchester City was awarded the most valuable fan token.
  • El Salvador was recognized as the first country to adopt Bitcoin as a legal tender despite the criticism it faced.

Crypto enthusiasts scored a huge win after it was reported that Bitcoin and other crypto-related terms made their way into the latest edition of the Guinness World Records under the “Cryptomania” category. Bitcoin and the entire crypto industry have enjoyed mainstream attention over the last few years. But, the recognition by the Guinness World Records takes the feat to a new level.

The 2023 edition of the record book was released last month and features several important crypto milestones, including Bitcoin, fan tokens, crypto adoption, and nonfungible tokens (NFTs). Bitcoin was understandably named the most valuable cryptocurrency and received acclaim for being the first decentralized cryptocurrency in the world.

The Guinness World Records noted that there had been other attempts before Bitcoin, but each relied on a third party. However, 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 post added that:

Bitcoin network is solving the double spend problem with a “trustless” mechanism that does not require any third-party to verify transactions; and it achieves that with validators.

The publication also included a category for fan tokens. Fan tokens became a huge part of the sporting community in 2021 with the rise of NFTs. Most sports teams launched these tokens to promote a closer tie with their fan base.

Guinness World Records recognized Manchester City’s fan tokens as the most valuable fan tokens. The token was launched via Socios in June 2021 and had a market cap of $47.1 million as of March 24, 2022.

The latest edition also recognized other aspects of the crypto market, including the popular NFT project, CryptoPunks, which was awarded the most “expensive NFT collectible.” Earlier this year, entrepreneur Deepak Thapliya made news when she purchased CryptoPunk #5822 for $23.7 million, or 8,000 ether. However, Deepak’s purchase is not the most expensive NFT sale. 

Beeple’s record-breaking $69.3 million NFT sale remains a top moment in NFT history but was excluded from that latest record book, as the organizers defined an NFT collectible as “limited-edition collections of artwork built around pre-rendered templates.”

The Central American nation, El Salvador, was also captured in the book for being the first country to recognize Bitcoin as a legal tender. According to a spokesperson for the Guinness World Records, items selected for the record were based on the frequently discussed trends within a year.

The crypto industry joins other areas of interest, such as space travel and TikTok, to enter the record book.

Lawrence Woriji
Lawrence Woriji Verified Author

I have covered some exciting stories in my career as a journalist and find blockchain-related stories very intriguing. I believe Web3 will change the world and want everyone to be a part of it.

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