STOP THE FED

It was January 2011, it was Bitcoin’s birthday, and people were starting to get really into Bitcoin. Some of them exuded a sort of evangelical zeal, as if they’d just seen the light and now felt compelled to preach Bitcoin far and wide. After all, what’s the point in a world-changing invention if the world doesn’t know about it?

Also around 2011, the internet was getting a real appetite for memes and viral stunts. Capturing attention through well-placed stunts had always been a part of internet culture, but now the craze for virality was going parabolic, driven by accelerating web adoption coupled with the rise of YouTube, social media, and smartphones

It was against this backdrop that members of the Bitcoin community found themselves in early 2011, riffing on ways to promote their project. The concept that quickly gained consensus reads like a schoolboy prank: they would convince someone to fake a public protest in a busy street while holding a bold sign that proclaimed “STOP THE FED! USE ₿ITCOINS!” In return, the willing party would be paid – in bitcoins of course.

Quite how this was meant to mainstream Bitcoin is unclear, but the concept was original at least, and even if it only amused a few dozen forum members, it would be time well spent. Forum user Jim took the lead in organising the stunt, offering 32 BTC (worth around $10 at the time) to anyone willing to carry out the plan. By January 5th, 2011, a volunteer had stepped forward and agreed to take on the task. The agreement was sealed and set for the following day. Bitcoin was about to make its real-world debut in downtown New York.

Sign of the Times

On January 6th, the bounty hunter dressed up and stepped out to honour his side of the bargain. As per the terms of the agreement, he donned an attention-grabbing headdress – a bright feathered hat – and held aloft his handmade sign that read “STOP THE FED! USE ₿ITCOINS!!!”

When he got home, he collected the bounty after reporting back to Jim on how he had fared. The one-man protest recounted: “i got to a very busy shopping street and positioned myself in front of cartier. as my headgear is kind of, lets say unusual, lots of people looked at me and at my sign. I stood there for about 15 minutes holding up the sign. a total of 4 people asked me about bitcoin and i referred them to bitcoin.org. Interestingly three of them were economics students.”

The stunt definitely didn’t put Bitcoin on the map. But it amused the forum members who had organised it – and proved a more lucrative gig than its volunteer had anticipated. A number of community members donated to the wallet address the bounty hunter had shared – causing him to receive a total of 96 BTC including the initial 32 BTC bounty.

Naturally, mainstream media didn’t report a word on the viral stunt – they weren’t even aware of it, and even if they had been, it’s hardly the sort of event that would have sent reporters running. Nevertheless, the stunt was wildly successful by any reckoning – because years later, we’re still talking about it.