What is the history and symbolism behind the Bitcoin logo?

When it comes to Bitcoin’s 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 always have this logo. Like everything else associated with Bitcoin, there was an original logo created by Satoshi Nakamoto in this era of decentralized currency, and the Bitcoin community used the original logo over and over again before the current one came along.

Those of you who were old-school Bitcoin maximalists will remember how this design evolved. And you may also recognize some of the basic mathematical symbols that underpin the Bitcoin logo.

If you don’t know it yet, this article will be your mini history lesson and crash course on the design secrets behind the Bitcoin logo.

The evolution of the Bitcoin logo

Initially, the first Bitcoin logo created by Satoshi Nakamoto was Bitcoin Core: a gold coin with the initials BC engraved on it. It is absolutely impossible to ignore the public recognition of gold at this time (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 thought about Bitcoin in this way from the beginning).

The OGs generally like the logo, but they occasionally suggest changes on Bitcointalk. One suggestion was to use the Thai baht currency symbol (฿) 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 people think that using the Thai baht symbol is indeed a very convenient stopgap measure until other solutions are found, but some people insist that using the Thai baht symbol will cause unnecessary confusion.

Nonetheless, the proposal served as a good inspiration for Satoshi to add the dollar line to Bitcoin’s design, making it ultimately so unique today.

On February 24, 2010, he launched a new logo. The logo resembled the original gold coin, but with two vertical lines above the symbol engraved in the middle, and unlike the baht symbol, the lines did not penetrate the letter B - they simply extended from the top and bottom of the letter, not through the middle.

Reactions on Bitcointalk were mixed, with some feeling it was still too similar to the Thai baht symbol, while others thought it was a bit too boring.

One person asked: "Is this the official logo? I know it's hard to get a professional design without the skills (which I don't have) or software (which I still don't have), so I don't want to be too critical, but I think it would be better if it was some kind of... No quibbling here."

Official or not, this was the dominant logo until late 2010, when an anonymous user named bitboy posted his first message on Bitcointalk. The user said he just wanted to come by to “say hello and share some pictures I made.”

The images are available for free download in the public domain. Bitboy uses Satoshi’s improved B symbol, but changes it to white and places it tilted to the right on a flat, bright orange circle.

One user commented: “This is by far the best Bitcoin logo I’ve ever seen!” This seemed to be the general opinion. Over the next decade, bitboy’s design became the de facto Bitcoin logo, which confirmed the comment.

Method to the madness

In fact, the logo designed by bitboy has become an icon. Even people who know nothing about Bitcoin recognize it as the universal symbol of Bitcoin. And, like the technology it represents, the logo was created anonymously and without any profit.

One user commented on the thread regarding the use of the Thai baht symbol as the Bitcoin symbol: We should let the Bitcoin logo take its natural course, like words in a language, without worrying too much and interfering too much at the early stages.

When bitboy released what would become the official logo in November 2010, it was still at a relatively early stage, but the user eventually got what he wanted: the logo did evolve naturally.

And the design is full of wisdom. There is mathematics behind every aspect of the Bitcoin logo, and every corner is designed to be both practical and beautiful.

These fundamentals and specific instructions for how to make the perfect BTC logo from scratch are documented in a Medium post by Phil Wilson, who helped design Satoshi’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 appears several times in the dimensions and geometry of Bitcoin’s design (for example, the B is rotated 13.88 degrees clockwise, more on that later). Wilson says: According to Internet Language 1337, the number “8” is similar to the letter “B,” which is short for “Block.” Many of the motifs in the Bitcoin logo, like the circle that eventually forms the B, contain the number 8. Other shapes, like the rectangle in the design, have a length of 12.5 (which is one-eighth of 100, which is another 8).

Since 8 is B, which stands for block in this symbol, each pattern is like adding a new block to the logo. Each time the shape is resized (and there were many during the design process), it reflects the change in the size of the data in each new block.

The trebuchet font used in the logo was inspired by the trebuchet catapult, Wilson’s favorite weapon in the “Age of Empires” computer game. By using the vertical lines of the dollar sign in the Bitcoin design, Wilson wanted to give the impression that “the lines are not actually from the Bitcoin symbol, but from the dollar sign $, but have been “pressed” into the ground by Bitcoin” - to indicate Bitcoin’s monetary dominance.

Bitcoin was painted orange, both for practicality and aesthetics. In Wilson’s words, it had to be a color that could be printed on websites and in print media, and it had to be a color that would stand out from all the other [currencies/payment methods].

The circle was chosen because "a circle is like Bitcoin: warm, friendly, continuous and endless."

Now, most newcomers might ask: Why is the "B" tilted to the right? Wilson explains via keyboard:

“14 degrees is calculated by adding an infinite number of numbers, each of which is calculated by dividing the previous value by 10: 12.5 + 1.25 + 0.125 + 0.0125 + 0.00125 + 0.000125 + 0.0000125 + 0.00000125 + 0.000000125 + 0.000000125 + 0.0000000125 + 0.00000000125 … which is approximately 13.888. When the rotation angle is rounded to the nearest percent using a drawing program, it becomes 14 degrees. This angle represents the blockchain moving forward forever into the future.”

Finally, the logo for this internet-born currency wouldn't be complete without a reference to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. In that logo, the orange circle is scaled 525% to give it an exact diameter. Why? Because, naturally, according to Wilson, "525% = 42 x 1.25." In other words, 100 times 42 is one eighth, which, according to the book, is the secret of the universe.

Why would the secrets of the universe be included in Bitcoin’s design?

“This technology should be the answer to the ultimate questions of life, the universe, and everything,” Wilson explained.

We don’t know yet whether this technology can truly be called “the answer to the ultimate questions of life, the universe, and everything,” but blockchain technology is still worth our continued exploration and discovery of more possibilities.