We All Know The Bitcoin Logo... But Where Did It Come From?

By Lucas Malizia, Defi Consultant & Federico Bruno, Project Manager at Finaflix

Bitcoin’s BTC/USD first logo was designed and created by Satoshi Nakamoto. It appeared shortly after its launch, in early 2009. It depicts a gold coin with the letters "BC" in relief. This is a clear example of skeuomorphism design, a design technique in which digital objects recreate their real-world counterparts. At the time that technique was all the rage; just two years later, tech giant Apple used it for styling on its iPhones. And just like the BTC logo, over the years it moved closer to minimalism. 

Satoshi's choice for this design had some critics, some wondered if it was merely aesthetic of the time or if it was a way to represent gold in a digital format, wanting to engrave in the collective unconscious the idea that, precisely, Bitcoin was the "digital gold" or the "gold of the new era".

Satoshi updated in February 2010 the design of its logo following the concept of the Thai baht (Thailand's fiat currency). It shows the now-famous "B" with two vertical strokes. This last update had many repercussions, mostly visible in Bitcointalk, a forum that started to be the focus in all the discussions about the cryptocurrency logo. Some defended the baht idea and others claimed that it should not resemble any fiat currency and that the ampersand (&) should be used, one of the most relevant ideas proposed by the forum followers. A prominent comment was from Hal Finney (possible candidate to be Satoshi Nakamoto) who pointed out that the first dollar design also featured two vertical bars instead of one.

In November 2010, a new Bitcoin Forum user, "Bitboy", offered some improvements to the logo and posted his graphics for free. This one remains the current logo and has been around for eleven years. Today this design can be found everywhere, from street advertising campaigns to the most unusual items of clothing such as a pair of socks.

What many do not know is that the logo is mathematically perfect by any standards, everything is planned and nothing is left to chance: 

Dissecting Bitboy's logo

Years later, a post on Medium by Phil Wilson (who at the time claimed to be the user Bitboy and the creator/collaborator of the latest logo update), explained how the number eight appears multiple times in the design. The rectangles in the image measure 12.5 (one-eighth of 100). On the other hand, the "B" also has a meaning: in internet language 1337, better known as leet language (a type of writing composed of alphanumeric characters), the letter B is an 8.

In this same symbology, the letter B also stands for "block". This means that each new eight-shaped pattern that is added means that a new block is added to the logo, thus achieving a representation of what the Bitcoin blockchain is.

The font used for the logo bears the name "Trebuchet" (a type of catapult), which was chosen because it was Wilson's favorite weapon in the Age of Empires computer game.

On the other hand, the use of the vertical lines matches with Hal Finney' theory, that they are actually like the ones in the dollar sign. Only, instead of being a form of approaching towards the fiat, they are placed in such a way that it looks as if the B in Bitcoin is "stepping on" them, thus showing a form of dominance.​​

The orange color is only for a practical and aesthetic purpose as it contrasts perfectly on any surface and stands out clearly from other means of payment.

Its round format resembles a coin to appeal to the masses, representing something familiar in a traditional and friendly format.

The B’s slope is at a 14° angle and it is not random either, is reached through a mathematical sum that Wilson explains as follows:

“It is produced by adding an infinite number of B (12.5) while dividing the previous value by 10.
12.5 + 1.25 + 0.125 + 0.0125 + 0.00125 + 0.000125 + 0.0000125 + 0.0000125 + 0.00000125 + 0.000000125 + 0.0000000125 + 0.00000000125 + 0.000000000125 ... This equals approximately 13.888.” By using a drawing program the angles round up and the 13.888 becomes 14. This way, it represents the blockchain moving perpetually into the future.

Finally, we can find a clear reference to Douglas Adams' hit sci-fi comedy The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, where the orange circle in the logo has a scale of 525%. As it details that 525 is 12.5 x 42 (one-eighth of 100 times 42). According to the book, the number 42 is the secret of the universe. 

This is a form of message that Bitcoin itself is the answer to everything we are looking for in life.

The Logo That Was Not

​​In April 2014, the "Bitcoin Symbol" movement thought it was time for a rebranding and that a symbol like the dollar, euro or yen was needed. This idea did not prosper, as the Bitboy logo was already too popularized.

Multiple designers gave their opinion about the flaws of the Bitboy logo, the most recurrent was that the logo was tilted because it was not stable, and that it should be centered to show its true power.

But as we already mentioned, the Bitcoin logo has already strongly penetrated people's hearts and is recognized worldwide by almost anyone, and that is what is important. Even in 2019, Google added it on its famous keyboard for the IOS operating system. This shows us that the Bitboy image is here to stay.