Satoshi Nakamoto, the anonymous creator of Bitcoin, originally thought of the name NetCoin for this digital currency.
When launching a new service, choosing the right name is one of the most challenging decisions. The records of the purchased domains show that he had an alternative naming option in mind for this digital currency. Netcoin never made it to the Bitcoin whitepaper.
History of Bitcoin and Netcoin
The domain “Bitcoin.org” is dedicated to the main Bitcoin website. Bitcoin.org was first registered on August 18, 2008 using the AnonymousSpeech service. AnonymousSpeech is a Japanese service for buying internet domains anonymously. Records of domains purchased near the Bitcoin.org domain show that the Netcoin.org domain was purchased before the Bitcoin.org domain was registered.
On the right, information about the Netcoin.org domain and on the left, information about the Bitcoin.org domain
Or Weinberger says that until now, before someone else bought Netcoin.org, no content was placed on the domain.
The choice of the title “Bitcoin” has probably been influential in the success of this digital currency and the blockchain network. Many members of the cryptocurrency community have expressed distaste for Netcoin in response to Weinberger’s tweet.
For example, one user wrote:
It is very interesting. I’m glad they chose the title Bitcoin. This name sounds much better.
These findings go a long way in helping the Bitcoin community distance themselves from people who in the past have identified themselves as Satoshi Nakamoto without any credible evidence. The Netcoin.org domain was removed at some point and re-registered on Web.com in 2010.
Despite the mystery surrounding the Bitcoin creation process, the asset continues to dominate the financial markets. Data from BitPay also confirms that despite the extreme fluctuations in the price of Bitcoin, this digital currency is still the most popular payment instrument on this platform.
Merrick Theobald, the vice president of BitPay’s service marketing department, said: the share of Bitcoin-based sales from the total payments of this platform in the first quarter of 2022 was 52%.