When it comes to the Bitcoin LOGO, most people only know the current logo: a white double-striped letter "B" on an orange circle.

This orange coin has become an internationally recognized symbol, but Bitcoin did not have this logo from the beginning. Like everything else related to Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto created an original logo during the era of decentralized currency, and before the current logo emerged, the Bitcoin community repeatedly used the original one.

Old-school Bitcoin maximalists will surely remember the evolution of this design. Moreover, you might even recognize some of the fundamental mathematical symbols that underpin the Bitcoin logo.

If you didn’t know already, this article will serve as a 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 inscribed with the initials "BC." The public’s recognition of gold at this time absolutely cannot be overlooked (especially considering that some believe "the comparison to digital gold is a crazy concept fabricated by Bitcoin extremists," when in fact, Satoshi himself thought of Bitcoin this way from the very beginning).

The OGs generally loved this logo, though they occasionally proposed modifications 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 was easy to understand, but the first was not so easily agreed upon. Some argued that using the Thai baht symbol was indeed a convenient stopgap until another solution could be found, while others insisted it would cause unnecessary confusion.

Nevertheless, this proposal inspired Satoshi to incorporate dollar-style lines into Bitcoin’s design, ultimately making it so distinctive today.

On February 24, 2010, he introduced a new logo. This logo resembled the original gold coin design but featured two additional vertical lines on the inscribed symbol in the middle. Unlike the Thai baht symbol, these lines did not pierce the letter "B"—they only extended from its top and bottom without crossing the middle.
Reactions on Bitcointalk were mixed. Some felt it was still too similar to the Thai baht symbol, while others thought it was a bit too plain.

One user asked, "Is this the official logo? I know it’s hard to achieve professional design without technical skills (which I lack) or software (which I still don’t have). So I don’t want to be too demanding, but I wonder if adopting something… might be better? No offense intended."

Whether it was official or not, this remained the mainstream logo until late 2010, when an anonymous user named "bitboy" posted his first message on Bitcointalk. The user said he just wanted to "say hello and share some images I made."

These images were posted in a public section and available for free download. Bitboy used Satoshi’s improved "B" symbol but changed it to white and tilted it to the right, placing it 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 consensus. Over the next decade, bitboy’s design became the de facto Bitcoin logo, proving the comment right.

The Crazy Method

In fact, bitboy’s logo has become an icon. Even those who know nothing about Bitcoin recognize it as the universal symbol for Bitcoin. And, like the technology it represents, the logo was created anonymously, without any profit motive.

One user commented on the post about using the Thai baht symbol as the Bitcoin symbol: We should let the Bitcoin logo evolve naturally, like words in a language, without worrying too much or interfering in the early stages.

When bitboy released the design that would later become the official logo in November 2010, it was indeed still a relatively early stage, but this user ultimately got their wish: the logo did develop naturally.

Moreover, its design is full of wisdom. Every aspect of the Bitcoin logo has mathematical reasoning behind it, and every corner is designed to be both practical and aesthetically pleasing.

A Medium post meticulously documented these principles and provided specific instructions on how to create the perfect BTC logo from scratch. The author, Phil Wilson, assisted in designing the second logo Satoshi introduced in February 2010 and the orange logo we know today.

There are many untold stories and details behind the logo now widely recognized by the public.

For example, the number 8 appears repeatedly in the dimensions and geometry of Bitcoin’s design (e.g., the "B" is rotated 13.88 degrees clockwise—more on that later). Wilson said: According to leetspeak (1337), the number "8" resembles the letter "B," and "B" stands for "Block." Many patterns in the Bitcoin logo design, such as the circles that ultimately form the "B," incorporate the number 8. Other shapes (like the rectangles in the design) have lengths of 12.5 (i.e., one-eighth of 100, which is another 8).

Because 8 is "B," representing "Block" in this symbol, each pattern is like adding a new block to the logo. Every time the shape’s size was adjusted (a process repeated many times during the design), it reflected changes in data size within 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 incorporating the dollar symbol’s vertical lines into Bitcoin’s design, Wilson wanted to convey the impression that "these lines don’t actually belong to the Bitcoin symbol but to the dollar symbol $, yet they’ve been ‘pressed’ to the ground by Bitcoin"—signifying Bitcoin’s monetary dominance.

Bitcoin was colored orange for both practical and aesthetic reasons. In Wilson’s words, it had to be a color that could be printed on websites and in print media, and it had to stand out among all [other currencies/payment methods].

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

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

"The 14-degree angle is derived from the sum of an infinite series where each term is obtained 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 + 0.0000000125 + 0.00000000125 + 0.000000000125 … ≈ 13.888. When rounded to the nearest hundredth in a design program, it becomes 14 degrees. This angle represents the blockchain’s perpetual advancement into the future."

Finally, no logo for an internet-born currency would be complete without a nod to "The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy." In the logo, the orange circle is scaled to 525% to provide an exact diameter. Why? Because, according to Wilson, it’s naturally "525% = 42 × 1.25." In other words, 100 times one-eighth of 42, which, according to the book, is the secret of the universe.

Why would the secret of the universe be embedded in Bitcoin’s design?

Wilson explained: "This technology should be the answer to life, the universe, and everything."

Whether this technology can truly be called "the answer to life, the universe, and everything" remains to be seen, but blockchain technology is still worth exploring further to uncover more possibilities.