1) You are so quick to call this crap. 2) One of its explicit goals is to find an existing character. Your post ironically shows that you can't currently type the B+$ symbol.

Well, without hitting up the Google I have no idea how to type that B-with-a-line-through it, either.

Plus, yeah, I'm standing by my first reaction that it looks, if not like crap, than kind of random. It doesn't really communicate anything on its own. A bystander won't see it and think "this is a currency symbol." Which I would think Bitcoin proponents would want!

  | Well, without hitting up the Google I
  | have no idea how to type that B-with-a-line-through
  | it, either.

I guess the first question would be, "Without hitting up Google, do you know how to insert any Unicode character?"

Technically, ASCII characters are Unicode characters.

Of course. Depends how you interpret the word "any". It's like if someone asks you "can you grow ANY fruit tree?", and you say "I can grow apple trees".

The guy you criticize makes it a point that he is trying to use a symbol that doesn't resemble the dollar sign since there is no correspondance between BTC and USD.

Did you look at other currency signs? The EUR sign is an round E with two horizontal bars. The JPY symbol is a Y with two horizontal bars. The GBP sign is a curved L with one originally, but nowadays, in many fonts, two horizontal bars. The dollar, too had one vertical bar. Nowadays it has two, in many fonts. There is another dozen currencies with symbols following this logic. Do a google image search with "currency symbol" as the term.

Guess why?

Designers of currency symbols have silently agreed to use two bars to mean just that: "this symbol represents a currency". So the B with two bars, for Bitcoin, is perfect.

The real solution (that may need a website too, to advertise it to the masses, least not the peeps @ HN) is obviously to agree on some free unicode slot to occupy and to get font designers to incorporate this two bar 'B' into existing fonts, in this slot.

>The dollar, too had one vertical bar. Nowadays it has two, in many fonts.

That is not correct. There was not a transition from "two vertical bars" to "one vertical bar" [1]. Please document yourself before posting.

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dollar_sign#Origin

I do not know what you mean by "document". I studied typography and designed digital type, for a while, about 20 years ago. So I know a bit about the design side of things. And the design side is what my post is limited to. I am sorry if this was a tad ambiguous.

I did not talk about the history. I talked about a typographical design trend that pertains to currency symbols. Also not that better typefaces sometimes have both versions on the $ sign. One and two strokes. The default is admittedly still the single bar one though.

Expert discussion re. the one bar/two bar $ sign, that could be an interesting read: http://www.typophile.com/node/17976

There's a very tight similarity: They're both currencies. Any icon for Bitcoin needs to communicate "I am a currency." Taking design elements from the dollar sign and Euro sign (the double bar through the middle) seems like a great way to do that.

Double bar is a great way to indicate currency? Dollar is often used with a single bar, just as pound, franc etc. See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Currency-Symbol_Regions_o...

Oh, good lord. Let's just agree to use "💩". Problem solved.

So then, this part in the article didn't tell you how to type it?

"Ƀ (U+0243) is a unicode character used as a "capitalized alternate symbol for the voiced bilabial fricative in Americanist phonetic notation"

The symbol the GP describing is an existing symbol, ฿, and is used for Thailand's currency, the baht: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thai_baht

I don't find it very aesthetically pleasing either. It's widely accepted that bitcoin is shortened to btc, so I don't think being able to type the symbol is really necessary. I couldn't type the new proposed character either without going back and looking up the alt code or copying it from character map.

The problem is two fold:

1) Despite creating an actual style guide for the logo, including recommended usage, the proposal IMO lacks serious attention to typographic detail, the one thing a currency logo actually needs. None of the examples look particularly great: the type is misaligned, the text dominates the B logo in practically every badge.

2) The Wikimedia-linked B is much better designed as a shape, has the right weight, but the tacky coin presentation completely ruins it.

Someone needs to take approach 1 to proposal 2 and we'll all be better for it.

Edit: nevermind, someone already did: http://forrst.com/posts/Rebranding_of_Bitcoin-Ft5

I propose that the "B" aspect of Bitcoin should be downplayed (the initial isn't important, see dollar/pound) to instead put more focus on the "Bit" aspect since it is a digital currency. Combining a 1 and a 0, handily gives us the uppercase Phi! Φ

This also has other benefits:

  * Supported by most widely-used fonts.
  * Easy to pronounce, one syllable
  * Has mainstream connotations (bitcoins sounds like a nerd thing)
  * Could use the lowercase phi for a more granular denomination maybe

Precisely my train of thought. Don't see why we need something so obtuse when an obvious, widely recognisable and - as far as I know - an otherwise unused symbol is available.

Plus, aside from the appropriateness of the symbol, it also conveys the digital element of the currency - it'd be more "on brand" if I was in marketing!

I think that the lowercase phi as a lower denomination is an excellent extension of the idea.

Other benefits are that it will get confused with the usual radius symbol (because it's exactly the same), and may be used to name an angle.

If I end up being able to purchase things with angles, I would not complain! Measuring angles with Bitcoins may be less desirable though ;)

Phi is used in a lot of other places, so there's some ambiguity inherent in using that. $ is used in programming, but that's something that came after the symbol was assigned. ¥, £, € are not used for anything else that's common.

I don't agree. Whilst it is used for other things, it wouldn't be ambiguous for currency, as it is not an overloaded symbol in that context. The current symbol, a struck-through 'B', is the symbol for Thai currency - now that's ambiguous!

And while we're at it, why don't those thieving Canadians get their own currency symbol!

¥ is/was the directory seperator on some DOS and Windows based Japanese and Korean computers.

Awesome fact! If this ever come sup in a pub quiz, I am prepared haha

Why do dollar signs matter? Is this not a currency outside the usual system? It has absolutely no relationship to dollars except for exchange. It's as closely aligned to Yen (¥) or Philippine Pesos (₱) which both have horizontal bars.

Additionally, the sign you suggest is closer to a Cifrão than a dollar sign as it has two vertical bars. Unfortunately it's common for people to arbitrarily use two vertical strokes on a dollar. If this were to happen with the Bitcoin, then there would be confusion with the Thai Baht (฿).

Instead, use a horizontal stroke and the ambiguity is removed. The symbol doesn't have any close matches in current use or in Wikipedia's 'historical' section.

If it were part of Unicode, I'd prefer the B+$.

... The logo you linked to does not look nice. I'm sorry.

Agreed. It looks like a lame coin you'd see on an online gambling site. The new B actually reminds me of a logo to a financial institution and is far more classy.

Just to note, I chose that image for the actual B+$ symbol, not to gold coin stuff around it. Yeah, that's pretty goofy looking.

Ah, got it. Yeah, I think if the B+$ symbol was given the same modern treatment shown in the original post, I would like it.