Bitcoin, NFT CryptoPunks, El Salvador enter Guinness World Records

Bitcoin and a number of events and phenomena related to blockchain were included in the latest edition of the Guinness Book of Records. This year, a new category, "Cryptomania", has been added to the Book, which includes significant achievements for the crypto world.

As reported by Cointelegraph, the recognition of cryptocurrency by the Guinness Book of World Records shows that blockchain and digital assets have been one of the most discussed topics in the last few years, and that the role of these phenomena in society is growing.

So, what exactly was included in the Guinness Book of Records this year? And for what achievements?

Bitcoin

Bitcoin entered the record books as the world's first decentralized cryptocurrency. The first block and the first 50 bitcoins were created on January 3, 2009, and the first transaction took place on January 12, 2009, when Satoshi Nakamoto—the person or group of people behind the development of bitcoin—sent Hal Finney 10 bitcoins.

Bitcoin was also recognized as the most valuable cryptocurrency with a market capitalization of $816.69 billion—as of March 24, 2022.

"Bitcoin was developed as a solution to the problem of digital currency regulation without the involvement of any centralized organization or 'trusted third party' to monitor transactions," according to the Guinness Book of Records.

It is also noted that in previous attempts to create such a financial instrument, the presence of a "trusted third party" was also assumed.

NFT CryptoPunks

A collection of Ethereum blockchain tokens, NFT CryptoPunks has been listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the "Most Valuable NFT Collection." The CryptoPunk token #5822 was purchased by entrepreneur Deepak Thapliyal on February 12 this year for $23.7 million—or 8,000 ETH.

Interestingly, digital artist Beeple's $69.3 million NFT work was not included in the record book, as the list's creators described the NFT collection as "a limited collection of works of art created from pre-designed molds," whereas Beeple's paintings do not meet these criteria.

Fan tokens

Fan-made tokens have also been listed in the Guinness Book of Records as a separate category. The "Manchester City" token issued by way of Socios in June 2021 was recognized as the "most valuable fan token" with a market capital of $47.1 million—as of March 24, 2022.

El Salvador was listed in the Guinness Book of Records as "the first country to accept bitcoin as legal tender" alongside traditional money. It happened in June 2021, and now in El Salvador you can pay with cryptocurrency for all goods and services. By the way, the World Bank has condemned this decision.

Cryptocurrency exchange Binance also announced last week that it broke the Guinness World Records for hosting the largest cryptocurrency class to date, with 289 people attending the Blockchain Land Nuevo Leon class on October 7.