- Charlie Shrem has teased a relaunch of The Bitcoin Faucet.
- The original website gave users up to 5 BTC per day for solving captcha.
- The plan to relaunch The Bitcoin Faucet comes at a time when institutions and corporations are increasingly dominating the Bitcoin market.
As of last look, a whole Bitcoin will run you a whopping $95,000. But there was once a time when early adopters were literally giving away coins for free to drive adoption. One Bitcoin OG is looking to revive the tradition.
A Blast From The Past
Charlie Shrem, a co-founder of BitInstant, one of the earliest Bitcoin exchanges and a founding member of the Bitcoin Foundation, has teased a relaunch of The Bitcoin Faucet.
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The Bitcoin Faucet was a website developed by Gavin Andresen, a software developer once widely regarded as the lead Bitcoin developer, in 2010 that rewarded users with Bitcoin for solving captcha.
“Working on getting the bitcoin faucet going again at 21million.com,” Shrem said in a Sunday X post that has triggered a wave of nostalgia and excitement in Bitcoin circles.
Like the original The Bitcoin Faucet website, Shrem’s 21million.com promises to give away Bitcoin to each visitor that solves the captcha. It also explains what Bitcoin is, how to receive it, and how interested users could donate.
“What’s the catch? No catch—I want Bitcoin to be successful, so I created this little service to give you a few coins to start with,” the website read, reiterating a quote from Andresen in 2010.
Still, Shrem’s take on The Bitcoin Faucet is not functional as of yet, with 0 BTC available to claim.
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The original website started with 1,100 BTC but eventually gave away 19,700 BTC. At the time, each user could get up to 5 BTC per day, worth nearly $500,000 at current prices. The project became unsustainable as the price of the asset and network fees surged.
While Shrem has yet to offer details about the new faucet’s funding and rewards, it is unlikely that users will receive as much as 5 BTC this time around.
The plan to relaunch The Bitcoin Faucet comes at a time when the Bitcoin market is increasingly being dominated by institutions and corporations. This is a stark contrast from the asset’s libertarian community-led origins, leading some to argue that the asset has lost its way.
As such, the relaunch of the faucet could offer a reminder of Bitcoin’s Libertarian roots while providing an interesting way to onboard more retail users.
The idea has already received support from several members of the Bitcoin community.
“I will donate to it to help get it going – just send the addy,” OG Bitcoin miner Michael Carter, also known as Bits Be Trippin, said in response to Shrem’s post.
Similarly, fellow Bitcoin entrepreneur Ben Sigman suggested that the project had the potential to bolster the value of the asset.
“Smart. The more people who get Bitcoin, the more it is worth,” he wrote.
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