Reddit Recalls when 19,700 BTC Were Freely Given in 2010

Reddit users have recently recalled an interesting of Bitcoin’s history where 19,700 BTC were given for free. To increase Bitcoin adoption, Gavin Andresen, a software developer, gave away free Bitcoin.

The cryptocurrency community at Reddit has come out to reveal an exciting piece of history into Bitcoin. The users started a thread that recalled when an American software developer, Gavin Andresen, freely gave out 19,700 Bitcoin.

The thread was initiated by a Reddit user, uGroundbreakingLack78, who recalled that in 2010, the first Bitcoin faucet was launched. To increase Bitcoin adoption, the software developer behind the website offered 5 BTC daily to each user who would solve simple captcha algorithms. Users who intended to participate had to register at ‘freebitcoins,appspot.com.’

Andresen’s impact on Bitcoin’s adoption

Andresen created his post on a currently redundant forum called ‘Bitcointalk,’ where he launched his idea of giving away free Bitcoin to users. He made the first Bitcoin faucet where early miners of Bitcoin would donate to the platform. Andersen stated that he was motivated to start the initiative because he strongly wanted Bitcoin to be successful.

Through his initiative, Andersen had a significant impact on the early adoption of Bitcoin. He was also involved in the software development for Bitcoin in 2012, after Bitcoin’s founder, Satoshi Nakamoto, stated that he would be exiting from the project.

The Bitcoin faucet website ceased its functionality, but users were treated to a rare image of how the platform worked on the Reddit thread. The website had an elementary homepage that allowed users to earn free BTC and set up a digital wallet. For the entire time that this website was functional, 19,700 BTC were given for free with a current market value of $1.2 billion.

Bitcoin’s current market prices

Bitcoin is still on its bullish trend. The current value of one Bitcoin is almost $61,000. If users who received five BTC from Andresen’s faucet website held the cryptocurrency to date, they would be reaping massive returns.

Major crypto exchanges have reported a shortage of Bitcoin even as demand increases. This is expected to push the prices even higher. With a recession not expected in the short term, investors will continue reaping big.

Bitcoin’s adoption has been overwhelming since 2020 and more so in 2021 when retail and institutional investors investing in this currency to hedge against market volatility.  The growth of Bitcoin can be attributed to early miners and investors such as Gavin Andersen.