The story begins on December 26, 2010, when a Bitcointalk user named "lumos" posted a link to buttcoin.gif in an "artist and animator" thread. This is the earliest public record of the term "buttcoin" in cryptocurrency history—months before the Something Awful forums coined it, and a full three years before Dogecoin existed.

Remarkably, someone tipped 0.5 BTC for the joke when BTC was worth only $0.26. At today's prices, that tip would be worth over $20,000—making it one of the most expensive memes in crypto history.

Fun early-era math: 10,000 Buttcoins = 1 BTC — the kind of absurd, forum-born humor that helped the term "Buttcoin" stick.

On May 23, 2011, a Something Awful forum poster cracked the perfect one-liner: "Has anyone called them buttcoins yet?" It was sophomoric, it was perfect, and it stuck. This moment would become the one that truly popularized the term.

Within weeks, the gag metastasized into Buttcoin.org (registered in May 2011), a parody blog that described a "peer-to-peer butt" economy while cataloging Bitcoin's mining fiascos, exchange blowups, and questionable projects. The site became a cultural phenomenon, documenting every crash and scam with perfect comedic timing.

Also in 2011, r/Buttcoin was created on Reddit. This subreddit became a community that documents cryptocurrency failures, scams, and exaggerated marketing claims. The subreddit has grown from 303 members in 2013 to over 194,000 members today, making it one of the most active cryptocurrency discussion communities on Reddit.

r/Buttcoin became the central hub for crypto skeptics and critics. The community developed its own language and memes. Terms like "number go up technology" became punchlines. The subreddit documented every major crypto disaster with a mix of dark humor and genuine concern for those getting scammed.

On December 6, 2013—just two days after Dogecoin launched—YouTuber James D. McMurray uploaded a satirical 4:20 minute video titled "The Next Bitcoin?" The community has since nicknamed McMurray "Buttoshi", a playful reference to Bitcoin's anonymous creator Satoshi Nakamoto.

The video was a perfect piece of internet satire, presenting Buttcoin as if it were a serious cryptocurrency project. McMurray's deadpan delivery made it feel almost real. The timing was perfect—Dogecoin had just launched, and suddenly the crypto world was full of memecoins. The video became a cult classic in crypto culture.

Throughout the 2010s and early 2020s, Buttcoin evolved from a simple joke into a cultural phenomenon. The term became shorthand for criticizing crypto projects that seemed more focused on hype than substance. Every major crypto disaster—from the Mt. Gox collapse to the ICO craze to the DeFi summer—was chronicled and satirized by the Buttcoin community.

The community grew organically, attracting everyone from crypto skeptics to reformed crypto bros. r/Buttcoin became a place where you could discuss crypto without the hype, where critical thinking was encouraged, and where the phrase "number go up" became a meme that perfectly captured crypto's sometimes mindless optimism.

Fast forward to January 9, 2026. After 15 years, the original creator revived the concept and launched BUTTCOIN as a real token on the Solana blockchain via Pump.fun. Within days, the token exploded in popularity, drawing thousands of holders. This wasn't just another memecoin launch — this was history coming full circle.

Today, BUTTCOIN has over 12,000 holders and trades on multiple exchanges including Coinbase, MEXC and Coinmarketcap. The term that mocked crypto became crypto itself. We are all Buttcoiners now.