Bitsquare has always been proud to say it is not a startup or a company, but a free open-source community project. It is being developed without venture capital or any other form of external funding, but with personal savings and donations from the community it serves.
To protect the values of this community and to build a stronger image there came the need to register the Bitsquare brand. The team recently initiated brand registration, but as it often happens, the name was opposed. It turns out, though to no one’s surprise, our project is not the first one to come up with the term “square” in its name.
To try and preserve the name we all came to know and love, the team sought professional legal advice from two independent lawyers. These consultations did not bring much hope though, as we learned that the odds are stacked against us.
Although the community has grown attached to the name “Bitsquare”, we’d rather focus our limited resources towards building stronger code. To avoid a lengthy and expensive legal process, we will have to find another name.
That doesn’t sound like good news… until we take a step back. Since its conception 3 years ago Bitsquare has undergone a significant transformation. The project has recently entered in a new stage. Bitsquare’s distributed governance and funding model is now under full development. Trade volume and liquidity have grown significantly. New members have joined the team. So although finding a new name is inevitable, rebranding right now might not be a bad idea after all.
The project is now seeking a new brand name that will firmly establish its presence in the cryptocurrency space. In the search for a new name, a team brainstorm produced a number of candidates. We are now turning to the community for additional proposals. To avoid bias, though, our list will likely not be shown.
Manfred, Bitsquare’s founder and lead dev, is offering a bounty of 0.5 bitcoin for the person whose proposed name ends up being selected by the team. You can find the details of the bounty in our forum post.