Early Bitcoin entrepreneur Charlie Shrem says he\u2019s working on bringing back the Bitcoin faucet \u2014 a website that hands out Bitcoin to whoever solves CAPTCHA tasks, normally used to distinguish humans from machines.<\/p>\n
Shrem shared<\/a> his new Bitcoin (BTC<\/a>) faucet website \u2014 21million.com \u2014 in a May 4 X post, which mimics the first-ever Bitcoin CAPTCHA page created by early Bitcoin innovator Gavin Andresen back in 2010.<\/p>\n The 21million.com website<\/a> currently displays a screenshot of a CAPTCHA task and a box to enter a receiving Bitcoin address, which was not functional at the time of writing.\u00a0<\/p>\n Shrem\u2019s Bitcoin faucet website also shows that there are 0 Bitcoin available to claim.<\/p>\n Like Andresen\u2019s old website, Shrem\u2019s page explains what Bitcoin is and how to receive Bitcoin.<\/p>\n Charlie Shrem\u2019s Bitcoin faucet website. Source: <\/em>21million.com<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n \u201cWhat\u2019s the catch?\u201d According to Shrem, there is no catch. \u201cI want Bitcoin to be successful, so I created this little service to give you a few coins to start with.\u201d<\/p>\n When asked<\/a> whether Shrem is \u201cvibe coding\u201d the project or receiving external assistance, he responded: \u201cVibe coded! It\u2019s a lot of fun.\u201d Vibe coding relies on artificial intelligence and prompting to write code. <\/p>\n Source: <\/em>Charlie Shrem<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n Bitcoin faucets were key in spreading awareness about the cryptocurrency and facilitating its adoption in the early 2010s.<\/p>\n Andresen\u2019s Bitcoin Faucet page handed out 19,700 Bitcoin<\/a> \u2014 now worth $1.86 billion \u2014 for solving CAPTCHAs.<\/p>\n Users could earn up to 5 Bitcoin per day from Andresen\u2019s page. The Bitcoin faucets encouraged wallet creation and transactions, which assisted with the expansion of Bitcoin\u2019s user base and network activity.<\/p>\n Other websites such as FreeBitco.in started offering similar services between 2011 and 2013. But as Bitcoin\u2019s price increased and transaction fees rose, rewards shrank, and the model eventually became unsustainable.<\/p>\n Shrem co-founded one of the first Bitcoin exchanges, BitInstant,<\/a> with Gareth Nelson in 2011. At its peak, the exchange facilitated around 30% of all Bitcoin transactions, according<\/a> to Shrem\u2019s personal page.<\/p>\n In order to offer the instant Bitcoin purchases that Bitcoin\u2019s first dominant exchange, Mt. Gox, lacked, BitInstant purchased Bitcoin from Mt. Gox in large batches before reselling it to customers nearly instantly.<\/p>\n However, BitInstant\u2019s business model faced scaling issues as its transaction volume grew.\u00a0<\/p>\n To support its expansion, the company received $100,000 from early Bitcoin investor Roger Ver, with additional backing later coming from Erik Voorhees and Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss.<\/p>\n BitInstant co-founders Gareth Nelson (left) and Charlie Shrem (right) pictured together at an industry event. Source: <\/em>Charlieshrem.com<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n Shrem also co-founded the Bitcoin Foundation in 2012, serving as vice chairman to encourage the adoption of Bitcoin as an alternative to traditional banking.<\/p>\n However, on Jan. 26, 2014, Shrem was arrested while attempting to disembark from a plane in New York and later charged with money laundering related to his role with BitInstant.<\/p>\n Authorities claimed that some BitInstant customers used the Bitcoin purchased from BitInstant for illicit purposes, including criminal transactions on the Silk Road dark web marketplace.<\/a><\/p>\n Shrem pleaded guilty to a reduced charge and served one year before being released in 2016.\u00a0<\/p>\n Related: <\/strong><\/em>Bitcoin eyes $95K retest as traders brace for Fed rate cut volatility<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n After prison, Shrem returned to the crypto space,<\/a> founding crypto advisory firm CryptoIQ and Druid Ventures, a $13 million crypto-focused venture capital fund.\u00a0<\/p>\n He also launched The Charlie Shrem Show, a podcast with over 400 episodes featuring some of the industry’s most notable crypto figures.<\/p>\n Shrem was then sued by the Winklevoss twins in 2018, claiming Shrem stole 5,000 Bitcoin from them in 2012. A court overturned an asset freeze<\/a> against Shrem and ordered the brothers to cover Shrem\u2019s legal fees in November 2018. The case was settled confidentially in 2019.<\/a><\/p>\nBitcoin faucets assisted Bitcoin adoption in the early days<\/h2>\n
Shrem\u2019s crypto journey has been a rollercoaster<\/h2>\n