Bitcoin’s First Website: A Glimpse Into Its 2009 Origins

Bitcoin historian Pete Rizzo recently shared a snapshot of the first-ever Bitcoin website from Jan. 31, 2009, when Bitcoin was valued at $0. The early version of Bitcoin.org featured a minimalist design and details on Bitcoin v0.1, the first open-source client, released on Jan. 9, 2009.

Bitcoin.org was registered on Aug. 18, 2008, months before Satoshi Nakamoto published the Bitcoin whitepaper, Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System, on Oct. 31, 2008. The Bitcoin network officially launched on Jan. 3, 2009, with Nakamoto mining the genesis block (block 0), which carried a reward of 50 BTC.

Satoshi remained active in Bitcoin’s early development but gradually distanced himself. In April 2011, he messaged a contributor stating he had “moved on to other things.” Before his departure, Satoshi transferred ownership of Bitcoin.org to independent parties to prevent centralized control.

Between 2011 and 2013, Bitcoin.org primarily hosted Bitcoin Core updates. In 2013, the site underwent a major redesign, adding new pages, expanded software listings, and a translation system to enhance accessibility.

Today, Bitcoin.org remains an independent open-source project with global contributions, reinforcing Bitcoin’s decentralized ethos.