Bitcoin pioneer and felon says he’s ‘vibe coding’ to restart the BTC faucet
Charlie Shrem is developing a new Bitcoin faucet website, 21million.com, which will distribute Bitcoin to users who solve CAPTCHA tasks. The site mimics an earlier faucet created by Gavin Andresen in 2010. Currently, the site shows no Bitcoin available for claiming and includes information on Bitcoin and how to receive it. Shrem emphasizes that there is no catch to the service, aiming to promote Bitcoin's success. Bitcoin faucets were crucial in early Bitcoin adoption, with Andresen's site distributing 19,700 Bitcoin. Shrem co-founded BitInstant, a major Bitcoin exchange, but faced legal issues leading to a guilty plea for money laundering in 2014. After serving a year in prison, he returned to the crypto space with ventures like CryptoIQ and Druid Ventures. Shrem also launched a podcast featuring prominent crypto figures and settled a lawsuit with the Winklevoss twins over alleged theft of Bitcoin.
