We need a new symbol for cryptocurrencies
The dollar sign is going out of style
Every currency has a symbol that goes with it. The dollar, yen, euro, shekel, ruble, and every other currency that exists has a unique character we use with it.
Articles about Bitcoin use USD to describe the amount of value being traded. This is largely a practical move, because there is no widespread understanding of one bitcoin’s value.
We all know what a dollar is worth, but one bitcoin is a less understood concept.
However, a bitcoin is not a dollar so using the same symbol to describe its value won’t work.
Eventually, though, we’ll need to integrate new characters for cryptocurrencies into our writing.
An easy move would be to add the bitcoin logo into typefaces. The B with two lines through it looks like many existing currencies symbols and it would be easy for people to comprehend.
Turns out that’s already the symbol for bitcoin: ₿. It looks different enough from the Bhat symbol: ฿.
I don’t like how similar they are, though, and the two symbols could easily become confused.
Let’s get creative.
I took five minutes and sketched out some ideas for potential symbols. They follow the general style of existing currency symbols. Most symbols use the first letter of the currency’s name.
(I should have googled these symbols before I started, though. Litecoin already has a unicode symbol: Ł. Good work Litecoin.)
I like my design better. The Ł looks close enough to the Lira ( ₺), Pound ( £), and Lempira (L) symbols that they could be confused.
I’m definitely biased toward my creation. I think it stamps out Litecoin’s identity as a tool of the economic revolution more effectively..
These are easy to understand and write. It would make a lot of sense to take a utilitarian approach like this to creating symbols for cryptocurrencies.
We could also take a more artistic approach.
This symbol for Ripple emulates ripples on a pond.
Cryptocurrencies don’t follow the rules of conventional currencies in the way we derive value from them.
There’s no reason for cryptos to follow rules of typography either.
Most currency symbols use the first letter of the currency’s name to give it a recognizable identity. We don’t necessarily need to do that with crypto symbols.
If we can visualize the technical structure of each cryptocurrency, for instance the typical blockchain vs Iota’s tangle, that could also serve as an effective icon. Icons of this type will give us a sense of how the currencies actually work.
Once cryptocurrencies have scaled and stabilized, we will need new symbols to easily integrate them into our language.
The dollar sign is going to be out of style before we know it.
Thanks for reading!
What are your thoughts on cryptocurrencies and the symbols we’ll use to represent them? Do you think that cryptos will even last long enough for these symbols to be a necessity? Or do you think this whole thing is just a passing fad.
Let me know.
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