Scams and Ponzi schemes have existed in the cryptocurrency space since its inception. The likely first-ever use of the word ‘shitcoin’ was posted on BitcoinTalk all the way back in 2010

The word ‘shitcoin’ has been floating around in the cryptocurrency sphere for many years now, but most don’t know exactly where it originated from. According to information dug up by Ameero (@ameero1), in 2010 a ‘historic discussion’ happened on the BitcoinTalk forum.

The Likely Origin of ‘Shitcoin’

In 2010, one user wrote something particularly prophetic about where the space was going—and it’s in this legendary thread that the word was likely first used. He wrote that if Bitcoin “really takes off,” that many get-rich-quick schemes will start popping up… “gitcoin, nitcoin, witcoin, titcoin,….shitcoin.”

It’s in the same post that the user wrote that “we’re in the Wild West days of open-source currency.” The expectation even in 2010 was that the space would eventually become partially polluted with “scams, imitators, Ponzi schemes, and price bubbles.”

You can read the original thread on BitcoinTalk here which even has comments from Gavin Anderson, an early founder of Bitcoin.

The Early BitcoinTalk Days

BitcoinTalk is the original forum for the cryptocurrency world and has long been a place where many of the memes were born. For example, “HODL” first emerged from the forum in 2013 by poster GameKyuubi. The first Bitcoin transaction also took place on the forum when 10,000 BTC was used to purchase a pizza.

Today, it’s still customary for most new projects to announce themselves on BitcoinTalk first. Bitcoin, of course, first established this precedent since the forum was started to discuss the leading cryptocurrency way back in 2009

So, in case you were wondering, now you know the origin story of one of the most used words in the cryptocurrency space.

Have any other stories from the early BitcoinTalk days? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.