Thats a nice looking website!
I don't quite get your business though, but I don't really know about creating vanity addresses either.
Say I want 1sex46gaoihga42r2, Now this obviously would be worth a lot! if bitcoin was globally accepted. What is stopping me from creating a very close variant of it? I could have 1sex26lignilnrt25 couldn't I?
Anyways I registered, Good luck people.
Hi ABitBack,
Thank you for the complements on the design.
Yes, you certainly could do that! I wrote in the
FAQ a little bit about why firstbits addresses are valuable and useful. I'll pull two important pieces of that into this post:
If two addresses compete for the same firstbits, the address that appears in the blockchain first is the only address that can use the given firstbits. The address appearing further on in the blockchain would have more characters added to the firstbits until it is uniquely defined apart from all addresses appearing before it in the blockchain.
What this means is, I might have the address associated with the firstbits
1sexy, but anyone who generates an address afterward that starts with 1sexy would have the firstbits 1sexyt, or 1sexyw, or 1sexyb, etc. It wouldn't be valued as highly simply because it is longer, more complicated, and not a primary word by itself. Certainly, there are still a number of good unclaimed firstbits, and if you want some of them, I'd be happy to help you acquire them with the
split key program.
You can look up a firstbits by going to blockchain.info, and typing it into the search bar. For instance, type 1sexy into the address bar. You can also send directly to a firstbits address with blockchain.info as well!
Here's some additional reasons why I find firstbits addresses useful:
● Consolidating wallets between different computers. A quick firstbits lookup will show the full address to send Bitcoins to, rather than having to email a full Bitcoin address to myself or attempting to manually copy it down.
● Relative needs to pay me back for dinner? A friend bought a piece of computer hardware from me? If they need to pay me, I simply tell them what firstbits address to send it to, rather than having to remember to carry a QR code with me or emailing them a full Bitcoin address.
● Shortening the address for space-sensitive online postings, such as forum signatures, forum avatar text, email signatures, or tweets.
● Tipping! In the future, artists might sign their artwork with their firstbits addresses, in an effort to gain tips for as long as the image circulates. Writing in a full Bitcoin address wouldn't be practical, and relying on a centralized address shortener wouldn't ensure longevity of their tips.
● Memorizing the Bitcoin addresses of other people. For example, I might know that my own firstbits address is 1justin, which can prove handy, but because they are so short, I might also remember a friend's firstbits address is 1jones, and a relative's firstbits address is 1jerry. In this way, I can pay them for any reason at any time without having to ask them for an address first.
