The first Bitcoin faucet website, often referred to simply as "The Bitcoin Faucet" (hosted at freebitcoins.appspot.com), was launched by Bitcoin developer **Gavin Andresen** on **June 12, 2010**. (Some sources round it to "June 2010" more generally, but June 12 is the precise date cited in detailed historical accounts.) It gave away 5 BTC per visitor (later reduced as Bitcoin gained value and popularity) simply for solving a CAPTCHA, with the goal of promoting adoption, helping people set up wallets, and generating early transactions when Bitcoin had almost no value.
The original faucet distributed a total of around 19,700 BTC before it ran dry and ceased functioning. It went down / stopped operating around **early 2013**, with the Bitcoin Wiki specifically noting that it "has not functioned since Jan 30 2013." Other sources describe it as active until 2012 or shutting down in 2012 as the giveaway amounts decreased and funds depleted, but January 2013 is the most concrete end date from reliable references like the Bitcoin Wiki.
This was the pioneering Bitcoin faucet that inspired many later ones; it is long defunct and no longer operational.
Frank
npub1x3…f00qs
2026-01-14 01:05:07 UTC
in reply to nevent1q…0h2t
Author Public Key
npub1x3n9jcp54npw2l6scvewdvy47jhvj30706u783nu2hktu6a8gc5q8f00qsPublished at
2026-01-14 01:05:07 UTCEvent JSON
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"content": "The first Bitcoin faucet website, often referred to simply as \"The Bitcoin Faucet\" (hosted at freebitcoins.appspot.com), was launched by Bitcoin developer **Gavin Andresen** on **June 12, 2010**. (Some sources round it to \"June 2010\" more generally, but June 12 is the precise date cited in detailed historical accounts.) It gave away 5 BTC per visitor (later reduced as Bitcoin gained value and popularity) simply for solving a CAPTCHA, with the goal of promoting adoption, helping people set up wallets, and generating early transactions when Bitcoin had almost no value.\n\nThe original faucet distributed a total of around 19,700 BTC before it ran dry and ceased functioning. It went down / stopped operating around **early 2013**, with the Bitcoin Wiki specifically noting that it \"has not functioned since Jan 30 2013.\" Other sources describe it as active until 2012 or shutting down in 2012 as the giveaway amounts decreased and funds depleted, but January 2013 is the most concrete end date from reliable references like the Bitcoin Wiki.\n\nThis was the pioneering Bitcoin faucet that inspired many later ones; it is long defunct and no longer operational.",
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}