Anonymous creator of the first Bitcoin exchange rate
NewLibertyStandard is a pseudonymous individual whose real-world identity has never been publicly revealed. They are BitcoinTalk user #26 (registered January 19, 2010) and were active on the forum until December 2012. They are known for creating the first Bitcoin exchange rate, conducting the first bitcoin-for-fiat transaction, and proposing the BTC ticker symbol.
On October 5, 2009, NewLibertyStandard published the first known Bitcoin-to-US-dollar exchange rate: $1.00 = 1,309.03 BTC (approximately $0.00076 per bitcoin). The rate was calculated using a cost-of-production formula based on the electricity required to mine Bitcoin. As documented on the NewLibertyStandard wetpaint Exchange Rate page (later mirrored on wikifoundry), the formula divided the average annual electricity cost of running a computer at high CPU by 12 months and by the number of bitcoins mined over the preceding 30 days. This was the first time Bitcoin was assigned a dollar-denominated price.
On October 12, 2009, Finnish developer Martti Malmi sold 5,050 BTC to NewLibertyStandard for $5.02 via PayPal. This is widely recognized as the first known exchange of bitcoin for fiat currency, establishing Bitcoin as an economic good with real-world monetary value.
NewLibertyStandard operated a website (newlibertystandard.wikifoundry.com) that offered to buy and sell bitcoins for US dollars via PayPal. It was not a traditional exchange with a matching order book; rather, NewLibertyStandard set a fixed price and manually processed trades. It was the earliest known bitcoin trading service.
On February 5, 2010, NewLibertyStandard posted on BitcoinTalk (thread #41) proposing the adoption of the Thai baht symbol (฿) and the three-letter currency code “BTC” for Bitcoin. While the symbol was debated, the BTC ticker code became the universally adopted standard.
In the Bitcoin 0.2 release announcement (December 2009), Satoshi Nakamoto wrote:
“Many thanks to Martti (sirius-m) for all his development work, and to New Liberty Standard for his help with testing the Linux version.”
This acknowledgment places NewLibertyStandard among the small group of individuals personally recognized by Satoshi for their contributions.
32 entries
NewLibertyStandard publishes the first exchange rate for Bitcoin: $1 = 1,309.03 BTC ($0.000764 per BTC), calculated from the electricity cost of mining — a rudimentary but historic first valuation.
Martti Malmi sells 5,050 BTC to NewLibertyStandard for $5.02 via PayPal — the first known Bitcoin-to-fiat exchange, establishing a real-world price of ~$0.001 per BTC.
Context post by NewLibertyStandard in BitcoinTalk topic 25. before msg173.
NewLibertyStandard proposes adopting the Thai baht symbol (฿) as Bitcoin's symbol and BTC as the three-letter code on BitcoinTalk, establishing the notation still in use today.
NewLibertyStandard proposes adopting the Thai baht currency symbol ฿ as the official Bitcoin currency symbol and BTC as the three-letter currency code — the notation that became standard.
Context post by NewLibertyStandard in BitcoinTalk topic 47. before msg389.
Context post by NewLibertyStandard in BitcoinTalk topic 57. after msg415.
Context post by NewLibertyStandard in BitcoinTalk topic 43. before msg540.
NewLibertyStandard starts a discussion: Bitcoin Address Collisions.
Context post by NewLibertyStandard in BitcoinTalk topic 61. before msg433.
Context post by NewLibertyStandard in BitcoinTalk topic 58. after msg413, quotes Satoshi.
Thread starter by NewLibertyStandard in BitcoinTalk topic 69.
Context post by NewLibertyStandard in BitcoinTalk topic 141. quotes Satoshi.
Context post by NewLibertyStandard in BitcoinTalk topic 137. after msg1195.
NewLibertyStandard starts a discussion: Bitcoin in Ubuntu 10.04.
Context post by NewLibertyStandard in BitcoinTalk topic 199. before msg1806.
Context post by NewLibertyStandard in BitcoinTalk topic 217. before msg1827.
Context post by NewLibertyStandard in BitcoinTalk topic 238. after msg2004.
Quoted post by NewLibertyStandard in BitcoinTalk topic 423.
Context post by NewLibertyStandard in BitcoinTalk topic 419. quoted by msg3830.
Context post by NewLibertyStandard in BitcoinTalk topic 431. after msg4073, quotes Satoshi.
Quoted post by NewLibertyStandard in BitcoinTalk topic 342.
Context post by NewLibertyStandard in BitcoinTalk topic 550. after msg5349.
Quoted post by NewLibertyStandard in BitcoinTalk topic 721.
Quoted post by NewLibertyStandard in BitcoinTalk topic 723.
Context post by NewLibertyStandard in BitcoinTalk topic 765. after msg8402.
Context post by NewLibertyStandard in BitcoinTalk topic 788. after msg8804.
Context post by NewLibertyStandard in BitcoinTalk topic 648. before msg9145.
Context post by NewLibertyStandard in BitcoinTalk topic 823. after msg9531.
Context post by NewLibertyStandard in BitcoinTalk topic 828. after msg9608.
Context post by NewLibertyStandard in BitcoinTalk topic 820. quoted by msg9655.
Context post by NewLibertyStandard in BitcoinTalk topic 834. quoted by msg9843.