[Ads-l] Coinage of "Blockchain"

[Baker, John]

The blockchain mechanism was first described in the famous 2008 white paper that introduced bitcoin, so that gives us a convenient starting date.  The white paper referred to "blocks" and "chains," but not to "blockchain."

I see a reference to blockchain in a 9/11/2011 article by John Hudson entitled Bitcoin Cyber Geeks Outraged at Paul Krugman, on what was then known as the Atlantic Wire, but subsequently to be just The Wire.  It seems to assume some reader knowledge of the terms, as Hudson wrote, "On the transaction point, it's important to realize that as services consolidate the transactions visible to the blockchain may fall even though real transactions increase."

The whois entry for blockchain.com indicates that it was registered on 3/8/2011.

Probably earlier uses can be found in the period 2008 - 2011.  I didn't check Google Groups, which might be a promising source.


John Baker



From: American Dialect Society [mailto:ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU] On Behalf Of Shapiro, Fred
Sent: Friday 1 February 2019 6:57 PM
To: ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU
Subject: Coinage of "Blockchain"

Can anyone help me to determine the earliest use of the term "blockchain" in its cryptocurrency meaning?


Fred Shapiro

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