EXHIBIT #4  ·  CRYPTO HISTORY, DECLASSIFIED

The name
Coinbase was afraid
to keep.

In 2012, Brian Armstrong built a bitcoin wallet called Bitbank. Then the lawyers explained that “bank” carries a very specific legal, regulatory definition. So the name got buried, and Coinbase became a $50B company on top of it. We dug it back up.

Read The Receipts ↓ FAQ

A community memecoin. Not a bank. Not affiliated with Coinbase, Inc.

EXHIBIT A — 2012
bitbank.is
Screenshot of the original Bitbank website from 2012, reading 'Easy Bitcoin Payments' with a sign-up form.
EXHIBIT B — 2021
Tweet from Brian Armstrong dated April 15, 2021, confirming Coinbase was first called Bitbank until he learned that 'bank' carries a specific legal, regulatory definition.

THE CASE FILE

We didn't make this up.

Two pieces of evidence. One buried name. Judge for yourself.

bitbank.is
Screenshot of the original Bitbank website from 2012, reading 'Easy Bitcoin Payments' with a sign-up form.
EXHIBIT A bitbank.is, captured live in 2012. Alpha badge and all. Read the fine print at the bottom — we kept it.
Tweet from Brian Armstrong dated April 15, 2021: 'While the Coinbase app has evolved a lot since then (It was first called Bitbank until I learned that bank carries a very specific legal, regulatory definition!), the mission is the same: to increase economic freedom in the world.'
EXHIBIT B @brian_armstrong, April 15, 2021, 1:50 AM. The founder himself, on the record, in a public thread. Screenshotted before he could think better of it.

THE LEDGER

A name's life sentence, and parole.

  1. 2012

    Bitbank goes alpha.

    “Easy Bitcoin Payments.” A sign-up box, a glossy blue button, and a warning not to use money you can't lose. Peak 2012 web design. Peak honesty.

  2. 2013

    The lawyers arrive.

    “Bank” is a regulated word. The name gets quietly retired. Bitbank becomes Coinbase. Nobody throws it a funeral.

  3. 2021

    Coinbase lists on Nasdaq.

    Same week, Brian tells the origin story on Twitter, out loud, in public, for anyone paying attention. Almost nobody was.

  4. 2026

    The community reclaims it.

    $BITBANK launches. No lawyers this time — just the internet, deciding a good bit deserves a second life.

ASK THE TELLER

Frequently deposited questions.

Is this affiliated with Coinbase?

No. Coinbase is a publicly traded company with actual lawyers. We are a joke about their name that has a token attached. If you're from Coinbase legal: hi, we love you, the tweet is public record.

Is $BITBANK a real bank?

Absolutely not, and that is legally the entire point of this website. See: the reason the name was retired in the first place.

Did Brian Armstrong actually say this?

Yes — April 15, 2021, on X, in a thread about Coinbase's direct listing. Screenshot is Exhibit B above. We didn't write his tweet, we just built a website around it.

Where do I find the official contract address?

Only trust the CA pinned on our official X account. If someone DMs it to you first, it's fake — that's true before launch, at launch, and forever after.

Is this financial advice?

No. This is a memecoin built on a fourteen-year-old naming footnote. Buy what you can afford to lose — 2012 Bitbank told you that before anyone else did.