THIS IS GENTLEMEN

The thing about memes is that their maker doesn’t get to dictate whether they make the grade or vanish into the mists of the internet. There’s really no way of telling in advance what will hit and what will miss; which typos are obsessed over and which are overlooked. The other thing about memes is that their makers often had no intention of doing so: their creation was nothing more than a happy accident.

In November 2014, one such accident befell a redditor replying to an unremarkable “Daily Discussion” thread on the r/BitcoinMarkets subreddit. It had been a mixed year for Bitcoin, with a prolonged bear market triggered by the collapse of Mt. Gox, but the digital currency was finally on the move and appeared to have shaken off the macro forces that had hauled it back every time it threatened to break out. But this time appeared different.

In a moment of excitement fueled by a rising market, the redditor typed the celebratory phrase “This is it, gentlemen,” a common colloquialism to encapsulate a long-awaited turning point. In their haste, they omitted a word and what came out was “This is gentlemen.” While mildly amusing, that ought to have been the end of the matter; a few titters over a hasty typo before the internet moved on. But for some reason, this one stuck.

This Is It

The next day, a new post appeared on the main r/Bitcoin subreddit bearing the now-immortal title “This Is Gentlemen.” The post served to canonise the typo, elevating it from a fleeting comment into an in-joke. As one poster responded, “I hope this reaches the same status of 'hodl'.” Their wish was granted.

Its adoption was swift and widespread. The meme quickly propagated across Reddit and other Bitcoin forums and its status as a core piece of cryptocurrency lexicon was cemented. The meme's influence eventually breached the digital barrier and entered the physical world, where the phrase appeared emblazoned on T-shirts and other merch.

While the meme has now become ossified in Bitcoin lore, it’s assumed that the original post stemmed from Bitcoin setting an all-time high or breaking through a major psychological price point. In fact, the truth is more prosaic. “This is gentlemen” was not a reaction to achieving a milestone like $500 or $1000. Instead, it was a response to a significant relative price movement that broke the monotony of a prolonged and demoralising bear market.

While “HODL” embodied a mindset, “This is gentlemen” captured a feeling: the shared euphoria of a momentary triumph. It is a philosophy of joyful reaction born from a moment of market elation. The BTC price it was referencing was insignificant, but the three words that were rapidly typed have come to assume a cultural shorthand for cryptocurrency milestones. Bitcoin set a new ATH? This is gentlemen. Institutions piling in? This is gentlemen. Nations setting up strategic bitcoin reserves? Why yes, this is gentlemen. What else could it be?