Bitcoin was almost named Netcoin by Satoshi Nakamoto, hints domain data

Published at: Sept. 24, 2022

Coming up with a good name is often one of the most challenging decisions one needs to make when launching a new service or business. Historical data of domain name purchases suggest that Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of Bitcoin (BTC), had an alternate naming option in mind that did not make it to the whitepaper.

Bitcoin.org, the website domain linked to the original Bitcoin, was created on Aug. 18, 2008, under AnonymousSpeech, a service in Japan that allowed users to buy domain names anonymously. Domain purchases under AnonymousSpeech around similar timelines revealed the creation of Netcoin.org on Aug. 17, 2008 — just a day prior to the creation of Bitcoin.org.

Did you know? A day before the https://t.co/oDfOFzFVNi domain was first registered, someone purchased https://t.co/KLzoDxJjrz using the same registrar. Looks like Satoshi was contemplating between the two names and later dropped https://t.co/KLzoDxJjrz#Bitcoin pic.twitter.com/yqwZYRefvX

— Or Weinberger (@orweinberger) September 23, 2022

After further research, crypto locksmith Or Weinberger confirmed that no content was ever present on the Netcoin.org domain “except only after it was repurchased by another person later on.”

The decision to stick with Bitcoin may have been crucial to its success due to the fact that numerous members of the crypto community highlighted their dislike for the name Netcoin, as one stated:

“That's interesting. I'm glad they stuck with Bitcoin, sounds way better.”

The finding further helps Bitcoin distance itself from the people that have previously claimed to be Satoshi Nakamoto. The Netcoin.org domain was later deleted and re-registered to a subsidiary of Web.com in 2010.

Related: El Salvador's Bitcoin decision: Tracking adoption a year later

Despite the mysteries behind the creation of Bitcoin, the asset continues to dominate the financial markets. BitPay confirms this notion as its data showed Bitcoin to be a major payment tool despite huge price volatility.

Speaking to Cointelegraph, BitPay’s vice president of marketing Merrick Theobald stated that the sales volumes of Bitcoin-based payments on BitPay accounted for as much as 52% in the first quarter of 2022.

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