When it comes to the Bitcoin logo, most people only know Bitcoin’s current logo: a white double-striped letter B on an orange circle.
The orange coin has become an internationally recognized symbol, but Bitcoin didn’t have that logo from the start. Like everything else related to Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto created an original logo in this era of decentralized currencies, and it was the original logo that was used repeatedly by the Bitcoin community before the present one. .
Those old-school Bitcoin maximalists will surely remember how this design evolved. And you might also recognize some basic mathematical symbols that underpin the Bitcoin logo.
If you don’t know it yet, this article will be a little history lesson and a crash course for you to rehearse the design mysteries behind the Bitcoin logo.
The evolution of the Bitcoin logo
Originally, the first Bitcoin logo created by Satoshi Nakamoto was Bitcoin Core: a gold coin engraved with the initials BC. The public acceptance of gold at this time must not be ignored (especially considering that some people think that the ‘digital gold comparison is a crazy concept made up by Bitcoin extremists’, when in fact, Satoshi Nakamoto himself started from the beginning. Think of Bitcoin this way).
OGs generally like the logo, although they occasionally suggest changes on Bitcointalk. One of the suggestions is to use the currency symbol for the Thai baht (฿) and designate the initials “BTC” as the official currency code.
The second suggestion is easy to understand, but the first suggestion is not so easy to reach a consensus. Some argue that using the baht symbol is indeed a very convenient stopgap until other solutions are found, while others insist that using the baht symbol causes unnecessary confusion.
Nonetheless, the proposal was a good inspiration for Satoshi Nakamoto to incorporate the dollar line into Bitcoin’s design, making it ultimately so distinctive today.
On February 24, 2010, he launched a new logo. The logo resembles the original gold coin shape, but has two more vertical lines on the symbol engraved in the center. Unlike the Thai baht symbol, these two lines don’t penetrate the letter B – they just extend from its top and bottom. out without going through the middle of the letter.
Reactions to this on Bitcointalk were mixed. Some felt it was still too similar to the Thai baht symbol, while others thought it was a little too drab.
Someone asked: “Is this an official logo? I also know it’s hard to do a professional design without professional technology (I don’t have it) or software (I still don’t have it). So I don’t want to be too demanding, but I Do you think it would be better to use some kind of…? There is no intention to raise the bar here.”
Official logo or not, this was the mainstream logo until late 2010, when an anonymous user named bitboy posted his first message on Bitcointalk. The user said he just wanted to come over “to say hi and share some pictures of what I’ve made”.
The images are placed in the public section and are available for free download. Bitboy used Satoshi Nakamoto’s improved version of the B symbol, but changed it to white and placed it on a flat, bright orange circle tilted to the right.
One user commented: “This is by far the best Bitcoin logo I’ve ever seen!” This seems to be the general opinion. Over the next decade, bitboy’s design became Bitcoin’s de facto logo, confirming the claims made in the comments.
crazy way
In fact, the logo designed by bitboy has become an icon. Even people who know nothing about Bitcoin will see it as a universal symbol of Bitcoin. And, like the technology it represents, the logo was created anonymously without any overtones of profit.
A user commented on the use of the Thai baht symbol as a bitcoin symbol in a post: We should let the bitcoin logo develop naturally, like words in a language, without worrying and interfering too much at an early stage.
When bitboy released the pattern that would later become the official logo in November 2010, it was indeed in a relatively early stage, but the user finally got his wish: the logo did experience a natural evolution.
And its design is also full of wisdom. Every aspect of the Bitcoin logo has its math behind it, and every corner has been designed to be both functional and beautiful.
These fundamentals and specific instructions on how to make the perfect BTC logo from scratch are detailed in a Medium post. Author Phil Wilson helped design Satoshi Nakamoto’s second logo in February 2010 and the orange logo we know today.
There are many unknown stories and details behind the logos that are well known to the public today.
For example, the number 8 has appeared several times in the size and geometry of Bitcoin designs (eg, B is rotated 13.88 degrees clockwise, more on that later). Wilson said: According to Internet Language 1337, the number “8” is similar to the letter “B”, which is short for “Block.”