Bitcoin Logo Turns 14: Look Back at Satoshi’s Creation and Changes
Bitcoin, the first and most popular cryptocurrency, is known for its distinctive logo: a white, double-striped “B” overlaid on an orange circle.
However, this logo was not the original design intended by Bitcoin’s pseudonymous creator, Satoshi Nakamoto. In truth, the Bitcoin logo underwent several changes and iterations, reflecting the evolution and innovation of the project.
Crypto exchange Binance, in a recent X post, shares a throwback to a historic moment in the evolution of the Bitcoin logo.
Binance tweeted, “14 years ago today, Satoshi Nakamoto uploaded the second iteration of the Bitcoin logo. 8 months later, gold turned orange.”
14 years ago today, Satoshi Nakamoto uploaded the second iteration of the #Bitcoin logo.
8 months later, gold turned to orange 🟠 pic.twitter.com/hA3RI9G2hy
— Binance (@binance) February 24, 2024
The first iteration of the Bitcoin logo was a gold coin with the inscription “BC” embedded in the center.
On Feb. 24, 2010, Satoshi unveiled a new logo: “New icons, what do you think? Better than the old one,” he inquired.
This new logo resembled the gold coin he had begun with, but the symbol in the middle now had two vertical strokes, and unlike the Thai baht, these strokes only stuck out of the top and bottom of the B, not crossing through the middle of the letter.
In November 2010, a user named Bitboy (not to be confused with YouTuber BitBoy Crypto) presented a new logo based on Satoshi’s design with several changes. He chose to replace the gold coin with the iconic orange circle, which gave the logo a more modern, abstract appearance. He also tilted the “B” logo 14% clockwise.
This logo was widely accepted and adopted by the Bitcoin community, and it has since become Bitcoin’s official and iconic symbol. It was placed in the public domain, allowing anyone to use the logo freely.
Given Bitcoin’s growth and progress over time, the mystery of Satoshi’s genuine identity remains hidden and unexplained to this day.
Martti Malmi, Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto’s oldest collaborator, recently shared 120 pages of an email conversation between the two, revealing a wealth of information about the early days of Bitcoin. Despite this, the true identity of Nakamoto remains a source of speculation in the crypto space.