KEY POINTS
- The coalition has set up a website where crypto enthusiasts can learn more about the movement
- A Bitcoin emoji should help drive financial literacy, the coalition said
- Polygon, Chainalysis and CryptoQuant are among the initiative's supporters
A group of over 20 major cryptocurrency organizations have launched a "historic" campaign to push for an emoji for Bitcoin, the world's first decentralized digital coin that retained a significant bull run during the first quarter of the year.
"Every revolution needs its symbol," the group said in a Change.org petition that seeks 50,000 endorsements worldwide before it gets proposed formally to the Unicode Consortium, the nonprofit that prides itself in being "the world standard for text and emoji."
"This isn't just about an emoji; it's a mass movement. The new, widespread effort for a Bitcoin emoji, once turned down in 2020, shows just how important blockchain has become in our daily lives," as per the petition. "United for Bitcoin," the petition says of the movement's supporters.
The coalition has also established a website dedicated to the cause. It said it was "time to give Bitcoin its rightful place in our digital dictionary" ahead of the halving – the event wherein BTC rewards are cut in half, reducing the Bitcoins in circulation. Historically, the halving pushed Bitcoin prices up.
The group believes that giving Bitcoin its own emoji will illustrate how the world evolved to the BTC era and it will serve "as a gateway" to financial literacy.
Started earlier last month, the petition has since gathered 10,718 signatures as of writing. The coalition has set a goal of achieving 1.3 million signatures, "matching the Bitcoins left to mine."
Digital asset services provider Nexo initiated the movement, with co-founder and executive chairman Kosta Kantchev saying that Bitcoin should be recognized universally, "starting with a symbol we all understand – an emoji."
Nexo partnered with crypto and nonfungible token (NFT) trading platform Brink and on-chain analytics tools provider CryptoQuant to establish the initiative. It has a host of other supporters in the industry such as blockchain analytics firm Nansen, Bitcoin and blockchain media company BTC Inc., crypto exchange Bitget, American blockchain analysis firm Chainalysis, blockchain giant Polygon, and more.
The push for a Bitcoin emoji comes at a critical time for the world's largest cryptocurrency by market cap. Digital asset giants such as Tether and other non-crypto companies have been acquiring Bitcoins in recent weeks and a growing list of financial analysts have retained bullish sentiments of the digital currency even during days where BTC slumped.
The latest Bitcoin bull was hedge fund manager Mark Yusko. He said Bitcoin can reach up to $150,000 at the end of the year, considering the historical pattern of BTC prices climbing post-halving.
Bitcoin is currently at $66,000 after it hit $73,000 last month.
