Getting a good name is often one of the most difficult decisions to make when launching a new service or business. Historical data from domain name purchases suggests that Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of Bitcoin (BTC), had an alternative naming option in mind that didn’t make it into the white paper.
Bitcoin.org, the website domain linked to the original Bitcoin, was created on August 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 August 17, 2008, just one day before the creation of Bitcoin.org.
did you know A day before the domain https://t.co/oDfOFzFVNi was first registered, someone bought https://t.co/KLzoDxJjrz through the same registrar. Looks like Satoshi was contemplating between the two names and later let go https://t.co/KLzoDxJjrz#Bitcoin pic.twitter.com/yqwZYRefvX
— Or Weinberger (@orweinberger) September 23, 2022
After further investigation, crypto locksmith Or Weinberger confirmed that no content was ever present on the Netcoin.org domain “except only after someone else later bought it back.”
The decision to stick with Bitcoin may have been crucial to its success due to the fact that many members of the crypto community highlighted their dislike for the name Netcoin, as a he stated:
“It’s interesting. I’m glad they’re sticking with Bitcoin, it sounds so much better.”
The finding further helps Bitcoin distance itself from people who 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 One Year Later
Despite the mysteries behind Bitcoin’s creation, the asset continues to dominate financial markets. BitPay confirms this notion, as its data showed that Bitcoin was an important payment tool despite high price volatility.
Speaking to Cointelegraph, BitPay VP of Marketing Merrick Theobald stated that Bitcoin-based payment sales volumes on BitPay accounted for up to 52% in the first quarter of 2022.
