No, Today Is Not Bitcoin’s Birthday

Some things in Bitcoin are just not up for debate.

The plural of bitcoin is also bitcoin— not bitcoins. (One bitcoin, two bitcoin, three bitcoin…) Bits is a better sub-denomination than sats. (100 sats is actually one bit, like a 100 cents is one dollar; being a wholecoiner makes you the Bitcoin-equivalent of a millionaire, as that would mean you have a million bits.) And October 31st is not Bitcoin’s birthday.

Bitcoin’s birthday is January 3rd. It says so right there in block 0: 2009-01-03 19:15:05 GMT +1. On that day Bitcoin’s blockchain launched, with 50 newly generated coins issued to Satoshi Nakamoto's public key. (But from which Bitcoin’s creator cannot spend according to the protocol rules; since Satoshi was the only person who could have created the genesis block, that would have effectively constituted a 50 BTC pre-mine.)

Yes, Bitcoin was first proposed through Satoshi’s white paper on October 31, 2008. But you don’t celebrate your birthday on the day your mom told your dad she wanted to have a kid. Nor do you celebrate it on the day your parents conceived you, or on the day they announced you to the world via a gender reveal party.

You celebrate your birthday on the day you were born, and the same is true for Bitcoin. January 3rd.

Happy Bitcoin White Paper Day.

This article is a Take. Opinions expressed are entirely the author's and do not necessarily reflect those of BTC Inc or Bitcoin Magazine.