Bitcoin, space travel and TikTok debut in Guinness World Records

Guinness World Records has added Bitcoin (BTC) and a number of blockchain events in the latest edition of its record book under the category of “Cryptomania.”

The recognition of crypto by a mainstream staple such as Guinness World Records indicates that blockchain and digital assets were among the most publicly touched-on subjects over the past couple of years.

The 2023 edition launched last month, has seen a number of notable crypto achievements included which spanning Bitcoin, crypto adoption, fan tokens, and NFTs.

Bitcoin was unsurprisingly recognized as the most valuable cryptocurrency with its market cap of $816.69 billion as of Mar. 24, 2022, while it also got recognition for being the world’s first decentralized crypto after launching in early 2009.

“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 Guinness World Records’ description reads online, adding that other attempts had come before that ultimately relied on a trusted third party.

OG NFT project CryptoPunks also made the cut for the most “expensive NFT collectible” after CryptoPunk #5822 was purchased for $23.7 million (8,000 ETH) on Feb. 12 this year by entrepreneur Deepak Thapliya.

It is worth noting that Beeple’s record $69.3 million record NFT sale didn’t make the cut there, as the firm described an NFT collectible as “limited-edition sets of artwork built around pre-rendered templates.”

Fan tokens also appeared as a category in the book. Manchester City’s token — launched via Socios in June 2021 — was recorded as the “most valuable fan token” with a market cap of $47.1 million as of March 24, 2022.

El Salvador was also included in the book for being the “first country to adopt Bitcoin as legal tender” in June last year.

“It was hoped that this move, which was condemned by the World Bank, would reduce the cost of international transfers — an important consideration for a country that is reliant on money sent home by workers overseas,” it read.

A Guinness World Records spokesperson told Cointelegraph that each edition “tries to reflect that year’s zeitgeist and the topics our readers are likely to be discussing,” with crypto joining the likes of space travel and TikTok as key subjects.

“We will be watching this space with interest over the next few years, as the technologies that underpin crypto develop and find a wider range of applications,” they said.

Related: Walmart CTO says crypto will become a 'major' payments disruptor

When asked about what was the most head scratching and momenutal records from Cryptomania, the spokesperson highlighted the innovation of Bitcoin, noting that it took the company a long time to get its head around it.

“Researching this title involved not only figuring out how to describe what a blockchain is [...] but also putting into context decades of cryptocurrency research and what made it different to any earlier projects.”

Last week, crypto exchange Binance also revealed that it had broken a Guinness World Record after it was recognized for conducting the largest crypto lesson to date, with 289 people in attendance at Blockchain Land Nuevo León on Oct. 7.